


Alive

by Seekers01



Category: Tron - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, Slow Burn, i think
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21718537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seekers01/pseuds/Seekers01
Summary: Sam is sucked back into the grid a month after his father died, because of the chip that hung around his neck and finds that the grid is in turmoil but in amongst it all, he finds someone who should be dead.This links with my fic USERS.
Relationships: Sam Flynn/Tron
Comments: 11
Kudos: 68





	1. Prologue

Thunder roared as the lightning flashed in the clouds. Wind whistled as it blew onto the shore while the water lapped over the black sand.

A tall dark, masked figure stood, facing east across the sea where the star should shine. The program lets the cool water run over his feet as he continued to stare. 

After a few micros, he let out a breath and looked down at the water. At that, something caught his eye. A pair of discs were being washed onto the shore in front of him by his feet.

He cocked his head and then bent down to scoop up both discs and held them in both hands. He felt a pull to them and put them together before locking them on his empty disc dock.

Suddenly, the figure fell to his knee into the water. He quickly put his arms out as he hunched over, to support him as he closed his eyes from the uncomfortable sensations, making its way through his body. 

The program dug his fingers into the dirt in the water and he felt his helmet retract, exposing his face to the cool grid wind. 

His circuits wavered orange before flicking to a bright white as the program let out a groan and opened his eyes. He looked around as he tried to catch his breath.

What has he done….


	2. At odds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might edit it later ,but this is just to get the ball rolling

Sam could feel the cold wind blow pass, as he made his way through L.A. Slipping into one street and out the other. He decided to go out for a ride through the city to kill some time before his next meeting. Sam was currently downtown near the arcade. He hadn't been back since that night and there wasn't any need to go there, was there? 

The fiasco at the portal was his last memory of the Grid. Where his father had sacrificed himself to give them time to make a run for it, even before that Tron sacrificed himself in an attempt of stopping Clu and he could never forget that. Surely after the demise of Clu, Sam wasn't sure what state the grid was in or its programs, but it's been a month now and he didn't want to think about how long it's been for them there. 

The bike quickly slowed as he approached a pair of red lights and sat back as he waited for them to turn green. He pulled back the sleeve of his leather jacket to look at his watch. It read five fifteen in the afternoon and his meeting was at six. Sam had forty-five minutes to get back to Encom and change back into his suit trousers. He revved his engine as saw the other cars across from him slow.

Just as the lights were about to change, Sam felt a small heated sensation begin on the centre of his chest. Just then, the heat made contact with his skin and zapped him, making him jump and hiss in surprise. 

"What the hell?!"

He hadn't realised that the lights were green and a car hooked as they flashed their lights from behind him. He put his hand up to tell the drive to say sorry and then set off. 

The heat was still growing, heating his skin as he drove.

He took one of his hands away from the handles to fiddle with his jacket zip and pulled it down slightly to expose the area and reached inside, snaking his gloved fingers in between the gap in his shirt and pluck a small chip from the source and pulled it through the gap. The sensation eased but he then let go of the chip, letting it hang as he went to quickly grab the other handlebar and quickly adjusted his bike and continue at a slowish pace. Traffic was building in front and from behind so the pace was okay.

The heat seemed cool with the rest of his body from the cold air and soon it was cold and slightly moving to the side by the wind. 

He let out a breath through his nose and took his hand away from the handle to do his zip-up again to protect the chip and mentally said "later" before reaching his turning point onto the motorway and sped off towards Encom.

\----  
He still has a few minutes before the meeting as he stood in front of the mirror in the gents restroom. The top of his shirt was wide open and the chip was between his fingers, examining it. 

On his sternum was a small patch of redness from where the chip laid. It wasn't sore or anything but it was unusual the chip did it in the first place. He flipped the chip over and saw that the small light was glowing steadily before slowly dying out. He brought it closer towards his face and the chip lit up again, however, it seemed to stutter from blue to yellow before cutting out.

He moved it away from his face and frowned, "That's odd?!"

The chip shouldn't be glowing at all, it wasn't connected to anything. Not to question the yellow glow as well. 

Sams mind seemed to fill up with questions, “What does this mean?” and “How is it doing this”, but he was quickly cut from his thoughts to the restroom door open and he turned his head, easing his frown to see that Alan was there. He quickly popped the chip back into the shirt and started doing up the rest of his shirt as Alan began to speak.

"Meeting is about to start in a minute," the young man nodded. The meeting was the last, just finalising legal and re-establishing Alan as chairman properly. Sam already had the conferences with the reporters and typically, he had enough of the bombardments of unnecessary questions and being in front of a camera for ages. He had even refused to go on any talk shows as it would be the same and was in the mood for them to talk about his father like he was crazy and that he finally lost it and d

They don't know and he can outright tell them what happened as they would label him crazy as well. 

He flattened out his collar before grabbing his bag and helmet from the floor and walked towards Alan and followed him out the door.  
\----

After a long meeting and much need food with Alan, Sam finally made it home to his small apartment. It was about nine-thirty by the time he got home and he was tired. The garage door was closing as he took the keys out of the ignition and pulled off his helmet. Sam got off his bike and popped his helmet by the front wheel of the bike before taking off his bag and placing it next to his helmet. Then he began to unzipping his jacket and taking it off to lay it on the seat of his bike.

Quorra was out a few friends she had made while settling into Encom as Sams assistant. Of course, she wouldn't stay there for long, he just wants her to be close by until she was truly settled and ready to move forward. She happily agreed to the idea and she even started online classes which she took while at Encom or at home. 

Sam decided to kick off his boots first before making his way towards the couch and flopped into it with a huff as he rested his head on the back of the couch while sinking into it. Marvin gave a happy bark as he lapped up onto the couch, making Sam lifting his head back up again to see a happy Marv wagging his tail as let out another bark.

“What`s up marv,” he said as he stroked the dogs head and scratched behind his ears. Marvin leaned into the action but then shook off his hand and jumped down from the couch and Sam watched him run off over to his food bowl. 

How could he forget? Sam let out a tired sigh before getting up from the couch and walked over towards the small kitchen. When he got to a certain cabinet and opened it, he crouched down to bring out a large dog food bag and a new bowl and then proceed to scoop out a healthy portion before heading over to marv and placed it down while picking up the old bowl.

“Enjoy Marv,” he gives him a quick stroke on the back before popping the bowl in the sink and tidying away the dog food.

After that, Sam made his way up to his bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt as he walked and dropping it at the end of the bed before proceeding to take off his pants and slipping into bed. He laid there on his back and picked up the chip from his chest, flipping over and over again. Just by looking at it, everything was the same, no damage. So what was that zap from?

Sam took it off from around his neck and placed it on his nightstand and then rolled over onto his side. He decided to leave the lights on for when Quorra came home and dropped off to sleep. 

From the nightstand, the chip began to glow a steady blue before flickering red and then cut off altogether. 

\-----  
“Sam … help us..”

Lights, lines, yellow-green colours filled his mind but right in the midst of it all was a masked figure stood. He could hear a familiar voice calling for him as the figure took a step forward towards him. 

At that second, the figure was at his right, however, the figure seemed to disappear very quickly to only appear to appear at his left. He felt dizzy from turning in several directions. He didn't even notice that the figure move until he heard a purr erupted close to his ear. Sam whirled around to come face to face with the figure. He took in the figure's appearance and saw the small circuits that littered its body. They flashed from orange to white like there was a battle for control. A feeling rose to clench his heart. He knew this program.

A scream erupted, making him snap his head to the direction of the sound before another scream arose from a different direction and then another. There was no one to claim their screams, only yellow-green circuits and darkness. 

He turned back to the figure in front of him, he was looking down at something. Sam followed his gaze to two brightly light discs in the figure hands. They were like his circuits, flickering from orange to white, however, the purr like noise was emanating again from the figure in front of him. It was broken but at the same time, monotonous like a broken record. 

Just then the figure seemed to have leaned closer to him before speaking low but desperately…….” Sam help us…help me…”

Before he could look up, he felt a lot of pressure collide into him, making him fall onto the ground and before he knew it, the figure was straddle to his waist and holding up one of their now strongly lit orange discs up to aim. He took in a sharp breath and brought his arms up to cover his face as he closed his eyes tight as the disc came down to strike him. 

Sam bolted upright in his bed, panting and covered in sweat as he looked around frantically. The room was dark and the moon still hung in the night sky. He looked to his digital clock on his bedside table, it read 2 AM. 

What the hell?!

He looked down and tried to take in a steady breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He brought a hand up to wipe away the sleep in his eye, however, he then he heard a slam from downstairs, making his head shoot up and his heart started racing again. He could feel the adrenaline pulsing in his veins as he threw the covers off him and slowly got up from the bed. 

Sam proceeded to stay in the shadows of his room as he moved to peer over the metal railing down into the living space. No one was there but he could hear cupboards being opening and then closed not so gently with a dull thud before he could hear them moving on. 

He could his chance and called out,” Quorra, is that you?” 

Sam didn't have to wait for a reply as a familiar voice responded with a “ yeah Sam! Did I wake you?” and then Quorra came into view of the living room with an apologetic look on her face and a bag of Cheetos in her hands. She looked to find Sam in the shadows with the light only showing his face and part of his shoulder. He let out a sigh through his nose.

“It's fine,” he said as began to rush towards the pile of clothes he left on the floor, picking them up individually before putting them back on starting with his trousers. He started moving towards the nightstand, towards were the chip lay and expected the thing to be glowing but it was laying there cold in the moon's light from the little window above. He plucked it from its resting place before popping it around his neck as he climbed down to the living room where he found Quorra sitting on the couch with Marvin on her lap. She let out a yawn before turning towards Sam.

She gave him an odd look,” Where are you off too?”

“To the arcade, there something i need to do,” Sam said as he rushed to bike and picking up his jacket and shrugging it on.

Quorra had moved to get off the couch in the process and Marvin seemed to trot off towards his bed. 

“Why,” she questioned as he bent down to pick up his helmet and then places it on the seat of his bike as he locks eyes with her. 

“I don't know how to explain it but I think the Grid has been trying too…,” Sam pauses for a minute trying to think how to say the next part without sounding crazy,” I don't know.. Calling for help?”

Quorra just looked at him and frowned before opening her mouth.

“And how long have you been getting these calls?” she raised her left eyebrow as she put her hands on her hips. He could see where the short sleeve had ridden up a little which exposed a little of her ISO mark. 

“They started this afternoon when I was riding my bike and then again when i was asleep, but that's not the point. There is some much that we don't know about the Grid and it doesn't have Dad to fix it.” he tried to reason looking back at her. 

“Sam for all we know, the Grid could be corrupted or just dead and they are only echoes.” all Sam could do was stand there and stare. She had a point, he didn't know anything. He had only been there once but even if it's dead, what's the harm in trying to revive it.

Quorra let out a breath and went over to pick up her leather jacket from the arm of the couch,” i might as well come with you, even if you're not going in, I may be of some help.” 

\----  
The Grid was a mess. Error tabs popped up all over the screen and even when he tried to close them all down and have a proper look at the Grids code, multiple patches were missing from the Grid processors and memory banks. Not only that, large chunks of code were heavily infected, one particular rooting down to one of the coded power lines. 

Pushing them aside, another error tab popped up.

ERROR… PORTAL GATEWAY DISTROYED

ERROR…

Sam quickly clicked on the tab as he could hear Quorra's footsteps come down the stairs. The tab had taken Sam to the section where the portal should be and found shards of broken code. He shuffled through old notes of the grid that he found around the desk and upon the wall.

“I've left Alan a message that we won't be at Encom but if there is any work, I can pick it up later,” Quorra says as she walks through the door. Sam hums as he compares the notes in his hands to what was on his screen. She moves towards him until she leaned over Sam's shoulder as she places her hand on the back of the chair while the other rested on the computer unit.

Quorra tilted her head, ”what's that?”

Sam looked towards the desk monitor before speaking,” I think these are Dads note for the portal. From what remains of the code on the monitor are the same here, here and here,” Sam points at several bits on the sheet and then goes to point at the screen. She looked back and forth and saw that he was right. 

“Ah yeah I see,” she says as she brought her hand to stifle a yawn, moving away from him. Sam set the papers down and turned his chair towards the ISO, who was rolling her shoulders and letting out another yawn. She looked tired and ready to crash. 

“Why don't you go take a nap in the office upstairs? I'm far from done and it will be far quieter than here with all these machines running,” he sat back in the chair awaiting her answer. She let out a heavy sigh as she tried to wipe away the sleep away from eyes with the tips of her fingers.

“Yeah okay. I thought I could be of some help but I'm just suddenly really tired,” Sam gave her a sympathetic smile and reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“It's alright, you've had a long day and need sleep.”

She yawned again popping her hand over her mouth while nodding,” Alright Sam, come get me if you need anything.”

He nodded,” Of course. Goodnight Quorra.”

And then she was off, opening the large door again and shutting it. Sam swivelled back around turns the desk and picked the notes again and got to work replacing code for the portal.

His Dad's work was so complex. The notes helped with the basic code, however, only for a while as it seemed the Grid code had changed dramatically from when Flynn first wrote his notes. Not just for the portal but for everything else and that was only by looking at whatever is left of the code right in front of him.

It seemed like hours until he thought the portal was fixed and moved to one of the main power lines in the city that was closest to the portal, which was heavily damaged. He could see how the infection wove itself around its code, feeding on it and cutting off power from the rest of the sector. Luckily, after searching through Dads notes, he wrote down a set of protocols that presumably could help contain viruses. Maybe if he could contain that particular area and redirect the power back into the sector, so could cleanse it and get it back in working order.

Sam hummed to himself and then brought up a search tab and began typing the necessary protocols, selecting and coding in an emergency power line which connected to the clean parts of the mainline and went around the contained area. In a matter of seconds, he could see whatever what was left of the sector, light up and then he closed off power to the infected area.

He didn't waste any time and moved straight to the infected area, removing and replacing.

After a while, Sam was finished with that area and was ready to bring power back to the mainline. He closed down the containment field and restored power to the line. Everything seemed to be okay, so he moved on the next error tab before the screen began to flicked and glitched and then suddenly shutting down. 

All Sam could do was stare in shock. What had he done?

Before he knew it, the screen lit up again as everything powered back on, hearing the machines warming up behind him. A minute went by until the login came up. Relief flowed through him when the logs revealed that all his progress wasn't in vain and he let out a breath. 

However, that relief was short-lived as a large error code flashed on the screen. He quickly clicked on it, bring up diagnostics tabs to identify the new problem but he wasn't given the chance too as he heard the laser activate and before he knew it, he was being sucked back into the Grid.


	3. contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lets continue.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just wanted to say that i now have a Tumber account, go follow so then you know when the next chapter is out or for seek peeks Seeker01 
> 
> i have also been reading my users book and i hate it that i'm still editing it lol

FLASH

Before Sam knew it, his face made contact with something hard and cold, smashing his nose in the process. He groaned and pushed himself up straight in his seat and brought a hand up to cover his nose. He opened his eyes and took in the familiar surroundings. Dark mixing in with light. Gloss clashing with rough hard surfaces. The desk was still below him with white light casting down onto it. 

He's on the Grid. He must have done something wrong, but why would the laser randomly fire… Sam’s heart tightened in his chest from realisation. The virus must of caused it. Maybe retaliation from Sams efforts. 

Sams sniffed and was met with a painful throb. 

“Aww fuck,” he let out, trying not to flinch of the pain as he began to examine it. He was relieved to know that it wasn't broken but if not that, it would probably be pretty bashed up. Then he felt something warm and wet run down his fingertips and also down past his mouth, past his chin.

Sam brought his hands away from his nose and saw red blood streaks painting his skin and then looked down to himself to meet small dark red dots on his white shirt. It's unfortunate that he didn't have any tissues to stop his nosebleed, so as his shirt was already ruined, he proceeded to take it off, picking at the buttons and once off, he balled it up and pressing it to his nose. He could feel the slight chill ghosting over his skin, making him shiver ever so slightly. He looked over his shoulder to find that his disc and dock were still in place.

Thankfully his Dad taught him a few things during their escape, so Sam lifted himself from his chair and walked to the open space behind him and started to untie his boots and trousers before kneeling onto the floor, switching his hands to hold the shirt in place. 

Sam pressed his hand on his chest which revealed a few codes and started rezzing material across his body. Circuits lines illuminated the armoured suit as it came together. One thin line down his sternum with two other circuits either side, starting from the shoulders and sneaking themselves around his back to stop at a pair of knobs at his hips. He only had a single thin strip of circuits on the front of his calves and shoes. The circuits on his arms were the same as the ones from the area armour, reaching down to the tip of his index finger. 

He moved his shirt away from his nose to see that it had stopped bleeding and threw the shirt towards the rest of his clothes, beside him. The blood had dried and began to crust above his lip and on hands under the suit. He needed to get off around his nose, so he brought two of his fingers up towards his mouth and wetted them before gently trying to wipe away the evidence without aggravating his nose. Before getting up, Sam reaches behind him to unlock his disc from its dock and place it in front of him. He sees that he can do more customisation and rezzes in his helmet and alters it's so that programs couldn't see his face, however, before getting up, he rezezzed in a black hooded jacket to go over his helmet and for extra security. 

Sam shouldn't be spending time on the outfits but something about blending in would help. He didn't know what the people of the Grid felt if a User walked among them again. He didn't want to think about it now as he got up on his feet. He felt taller in some way. 

The user gathers his clothes and boots, walks over to the desk to place them under the desk before turning and making his way to the stairs.

Once outside the arcade, the area looks like it was before with no one in sight. If this was like before, he needed to stay out of sight. 

So Sam decided to go left this time, sticking close to the wall as he walked.

As he made his way down the sidewalk, he noticed a few programs on the other side of the street staring up at the digital sky. He followed their gaze to the east and was met with a bright star on the horizon. Sam let out a sigh in relief. He still had a way out. However, it was a clear indication of knowing a User was here, roaming the city. If there were any non-user friendlies, the beacon has their full attention now which means Sam will have to be extremely careful not to get himself caught up in a difficult situation with no backup, but right now it gives him a chance to sneak by unnoticed.

So he set off roaming the sector.

Sam went from street to street seeking out and assessing, making mental notes as he went only to find it was mostly intact, however, as he carried on deeper into the sector, it he saw how quickly the streets became more and more in disarray, until he came to one particular street. The street barely lit and there was rubble scattered around the street. There were large holes littered every building around him, there were others that completely collapsed. Over turned cars and deactivated tanks scattered around the road in front of him. 

It looked like there was some sort of attack in the area and everyone who lived in this part just versioned or moved and never came back. What was there to come back too? A deep sadness and disappointmet Sam started to get to work restoring it. 

He moved onto the closest building to him with minimal damage and pulled it's code apart, replacing old damaged strands with new ones. He looked up and saw the faint glow of pixels slowly regenerating and spreading all over the damaged parts. Looking back at the code, he made sure that it was properly stable before closing it and moving on.

It didn't take him long to restore small damaged parts of each building but as he tackled bigger parts of the sector, It came to prove quite challenging to do as the strain of using so much energy for such a large building.

As he travelled further into the sector, the damage didn't end. Sam made his way to one of the smaller buildings to his right and made his way inside. He walked through what seemed to be a hallway, stepping over bits of fallen debris from the level above.. From what he could see from the small flickers of light from a few damage wall panels, was a door into another room down the hall, however, as Sam grew closer and closer to the door, he noticed a yellow-green glow seeping through the cracks. 

He gently pressed his hand on the door, feeling the flow of energy through his fingertips. Then all of a sudden, the door fell apart, revealing a terrible mass of the yellow-green circuits spreading across the room. Sam stalked into the room and took in the sight. It was relatively empty, only debris and decay. He knelt down and pulled up the display. The codes were chaotic like he had seen on the other side, however, it seemed embedded and mutating code. He tapped on the display to get a better look, pulling apart a set of codes. Then out of nowhere, the display flashes red and disappears. 

Sam didn't have time to think when a high voltage ran straight up his arms, causing him to yell out in pain. Quickly pushed himself away from where he was kneeling and stepped back, looking at the spot where he just was, seeing a few sparks come out from the floor and die at the same time. He looked down at his hands and saw the faint flickers of the sickly green appear and disappeared on his circuits. He could feel the current surge through and up to his arms, making him shiver.

With panicked haste, Sam turns slamming his hand on the nearest wall, trying to bring up a display. Only to be met with the same sickly glow consuming the wall that his hand was imprinted on. 

If by instinct, Sam bolted out of the room back into the Hall. Pixels came crumbling down as he tried to move away. The glow started to spread above him towards the door and upstairs as he made his down the hall, leaping over footfalls that appear in the floor and out the main door, putting distance between him and the building. He turned to face the building. It started to crumble under the corruption. Sam quickly knelt down, placing his hand down onto the pavement, bringing up the Grid’s protocols, activating a containment field that dealt with cleaning up and quarantine, around the building. It seems to slow the process to the building’s derezzolution. He would have to deal with it and all the others he’ll come into contact with, later. All he could do now was contain and quarantine. 

Sam let out a sigh of relief, resting his head on his knee for a minute before looking at the display in front of him. He scrolled different tabs on the screen out causality and stumbled across a map of the grid. 

“This will come in handy,” Sam thought while reaching for his disc and settling it on the floor next to the display and then placing his hand over the screen, converting the map into code and extracting it from the display and then hoving over his disc, watching the data flow out of his hand and into his disc. The transaction only lasts a few micros before the disc flashed a few times and then went dark, then picked it back up and hooked it back onto his disc dock. He stood and started moving down the street away from the contained area and came across a set of very tall buildings.

Sam moved off the street in an alleyway to one of the tallest buildings in the area. Stopping in front of one, he could hear the slight metal groans escaping from the roughened walls and beaten pillars. The building itself expanding diagonally into the dark digital sky. Taking a step forward, placing his hand onto the rough surface, Sam cautiously pulled up the building's schematics and started to pull apart the code. Just by looking at it, Sam knew this would top off his list of “challenges”. Parts of the building were missing and critically unstable resulting in its collapse if he was careful.

“Step one, make this thing stable,” Sam huffed to himself, driving straight in. 

What seemed like forever, an exhausted Sam stood and watched the steady regrowth of the building, when Suddenly, there was a sharp cry, more like a screech, reaching Sams earshot. He quickly covered his hands over the sides of his helmet, trying to block out the noise but then he was tackled to the ground by a heavy object and then pinned in place. 

The User groaned and hadn't realised he'd closed his eyes. When he did open them to see his attacker, Sam found a strangely corrupted program, with glowing yellow-green eyes and decaying codes starting from his cheekbone down his suit. The program leaned down to his covered face and let out another deafening scream before trying to land his next attack. As always, Sam was one step ahead and kicked the program off him. He got to his feet quickly and grabbed his disc off his back. 

The program jumped up, grabbed his disc and then lunged at him again. Sam blocked the disc and punched it in the face, but the program recovered quickly for his next attack, catching Sam's upper arm, slicing through his jacket and suit. 

Sam tried to ignore the pain and trying to focus on his next move but the injury felt different in some way. But Sam's didn't have time to wonder as the fight became more intense and turned into a dance of bright light, each attack more deadly than the last. Sam started to grow more exhausted than he already was after every attack but pushed and pushed. 

The program grabbed Sam's neck, lifting him up, slightly off his feet cause Sam to make a choked sound and then threw him to the ground. Sam groaned when he hit the floor. Little black dots covered his vision as he tried to get on his weak legs. Sam made an effort to dodge each attack until he struck the program with his disc into its shoulder, derezzing his right arm. 

The program dropped to his knees and looked at Sam with a grin as he walked and stopped two feet before it. 

“There`s no help for you USER, the clock is ticking,” the program gritted before releasing a corrupted laugh and then derezzing at Sam's feet. 

What did he mean the clock is ticking? 

Suddenly there was a flicker in the sky and then a bright flash above, making him look up to see another flicker. 

What was that!

Sam abandoned the now pile of pixels to run out into the open street and looked towards the star in the sky. It was starting to fade into the sky. Sam watched as his only way out of the grid disappeared. 

Shit!

Dread and panic started to rise through him and all he could do was stand there and stare. He knew he was trapped here for a while until Quorra woke and realised he was gone. But what happened if she got sucked in too? Sam didn't want to think about it. All he could do now was what he was doing now but sooner or later he would have to find allies to help him.

This day just keeps getting better and better.

Sam moved his arm to attach his disc back onto his dock, but as he did, a shape sting rose from his arm and lowered it back down to clench it. He took off the jacket to assess the wound. From what he could see, it was deep enough to draw a lot of blood, however, it seemed to have started healing around the edges. So he moved back into the alleyway before rezzing in a thick black cloth and bandage to cover the wound over his suit. 

After he was finished, he popped his jacket back on and threw his hood over his helmet as he walked out back onto the streets. 

. . .

Once he made it to the next sector, he quickly realised that it wasn't as much of a ghost town like the one he just came out of. 

...

Sam travelled down several not so empty streets before finding himself outside some sort of club. The building wasn't like the “End of the line” club but it was big and it stood out from its surroundings. Blaring lights and loud music could be seen and heard from outside.

He desperately needed to stop and rest for a bit before he collapsed from his aches and exhaustion. Sam had a feeling that this place was the best choice, so he made his way towards the entrance of the club. 

Once inside, he took in the view of the place. The layout of the club consisted of a bar in the middle with stairs going up to a more private area for programs to sit. The rest was open space with a few booths around the edge of the place. Sam weavers through the crowd of occupied programs until he reached the bar and sat on a stall and lead forward, resting on his elbows and his helmet in his hands. He took a breath, trying to focus and to gather himself up. He could feel the throb from his arm as he lent on it.

“Well, what do the likes of you show up at my bar and not show your face hum?” 

Sam looks up to where the sudden voice was coming from and was met with a young female program who was tending the bar. The program was tall with long brown hair pulled to the side. Her lips were painted black with a white line going across the middle to match her suit and circuit. 

She stood there with her arms crossed and suddenly he felt the beat change to a heavy techno, which pulsed in Sam's head. 

“Do you speak or are you like the program over there, all purs no word,” she asked while pointing her thumb over her shoulder toward another masked program on the other side of the bar, who swirled his drink around in his hand. This program had fewer circuits than all the others around him. 

“Actually, I'm looking for some information and drink,” Sam said with a hidden smile, “and it seems that the portal has shut itself down while a user is still inside.” 

That caught the attention of the mysterious program as he stopped swirling his drink as he looked directly at him. At this moment another program had joined him, leaning on the bar, facing away from the user. The new program was tall with wide shoulders and was leaning towards the other program to tell him something.

The masked program felt familiar, like the Rinziler but without the orange circuit and the T at the base of his neck. 

“Yeah, I heard a few programs talking about it just before you came in.” the female program said, ”But he might want to be careful while being on the grid because there is some program out there who are either infected or Clu's supporters who might want to kill them.”

Really, Sam let out an unamused mental sigh and brought his hand up to rub the part where the mask covered his chin. It didn't surprise him that Clu's supporters would still be around.

“I've heard,” Sam lied,” do you know what might have caused it?”

“Weren't you here when everything went down?" She questioned with a frown. Sam stuttered while racking through his brain to come up with a response. 

“I've been in sleep mode for a long time as i took a lot of damage during the reintegration and only woke up this cycle," Sam was thankful for the mask over his face right now as for sure the program wouldn't have believed him if she saw his hesitation and slightly alarming features. 

Her frown began to relax and reached down to plop a tall slim glass down in front of him and poured a green liquid which looked like slim, into the glass before pushing it towards him. He accepts the drinking and starts to mimic the masked program action as he begins to swirl his drink around.

"Well, the virus started right after the Reintegration. I've heard whispers it started at Clu's headquarters east of the city or that's where they mostly gather. We've done our best to section off the area, however, since the User is messing around, they actually did some good," this seemed to intrigue Sam. He knows he's been working in that area before being sucked in. 

"How so?"

She set her flask down on to her side of the counter.

"Haven't you felt it? We've always had filtered energy run through the city when Clu was in control but now …. It reminds me of the old times. Pure," happiness was radiating off her and Sam couldn't help but smile. He thought maybe clearing that one of the main power lines would help bring more power but he didn't know that he had done anything else besides that.

Sam derezzed his helmet, showing his whole face to the program in front of him. The smile was still plastered on his face as he looked at her. 

“That's better, I might like you much better now that I see your face,” she chuckled to then turn to tender with two other programs that arrived at the bar. 

Sam didn't notice the mystery program at the corner of the bar stiffen, as he surveyed his drink before downing it and then asking for another.


	4. who are you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah this one is short but i'm trying to get back into the swing of things. Ive been ill for over a month and had not desire to write. But on the bright side of things, Im on tumblr and you chat to me on discord if you want ( RINZLER01)
> 
> thank you for bearing with me 
> 
> Seekers x

It's been five-point something miller cycle since the portal had collapsed, meaning he'd been trapped only for an hour at best. He had been attacked and driven to underground areas of the grid, and right now Sam was running, running with all could muster. The User hadn't slept in what felt like days and it was catching up with him bit by bit. The only place he found safe was the bar, however, that felt like days or weeks ago. There was only so much energy could do for him, yet every time he tried to stop and rest, programs would find him.

Sam rushed towards a large set of stairs, jumped on to the rails which were placed right in the middle and slid his way down the first set. He then jumped his way down the next, landing hard and then set off running down the tunnel. The programs were closing in fast, Sam could hear them coming. 

His pulse was racing as he made a sharp left and then a right. It looked like he found himself in another large underground passing and he carried on running. Suddenly, a disc whizzed passed him, making him duck and trip, landing on his shoulder. Sam grabbed his disc before standing up, turning to his attackers.

The three programs stopped a few feet away from him, stealing themselves for their next attack. They were all male and wore orange circuits, however, they were a variety of heights. 

The tallest program attacked first, lunging straight at him. Sam moved to the side, dodging the program as it landed hard on the ground. Another came at him, swinging his disc wildly at him. He ducked, getting behind the program and with one swift kick, sent the program flying into the wall, knocking the guy cleanout. He didn't have time to recover as the smallest program took his chance, striking Sam in the back.

Sam let out a painful cry, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to push past the pain to draw the last bit of strength and before his attacker knew it, the young man moved to face the program and without hesitation, landed his disc right in the program’s chest, derezzing the program instantly.

All of a sudden, Sam was kicked to the floor and slid to a stop away from the program he just derezzed. Pain ripped through him, making him groan and cough. His lungs burned from the lack of oxygen but he still managed to get one knee trying not to aggravate his back, before the program stood in front of him, letting out a low chuckle as the user looked up.

“Did you think you could hide behind that mask, User?” Sam couldn't gather the word to respond as he gasped for air before the male program bent down to grab the bottom of Sam's helmet, pressing on two nods, making the helmet retract. The hood slipped from his head to hang from his shoulders.

Sam squinted as he was exposed to the light strip from the ceiling as cool air made its way into his lungs. There was a warm trail of blood leaking from the side of the mouth when the tall program stood at full height and slowly reached for his disc. 

“ We don't need you here,” The program spat as he bent down to grab the user's face. 

“Yes….you do, “ Sam gritted out, “ The Grid is falling apart and you need my help to fix it.” 

The program increased his grip on the injured man's face, “We can fix it on our own, without your help. We don't need you here, playing god. I'd rather be derezzed than being ruled by another User.”

The program threw Sam's face to the side as he let go before raising his disc ready to strike. Sam kept his head down and closed his eyes. He had to find a way to get away or maybe ...but he couldn't finish that thought. The pain was overwhelming him, making him lose his concentration and feeling the adrenaline dissipate. He was going into some sort of shock, throwing any type of rational thought out the window. He could feel his heartbeat in his ears and a deep ache in his head like his head was about to explode. Every time he took a breath, it was like he could feel the wound on his back open ever so more. 

Then the sound of a disc activating came from behind him. Probably more of the program’s friends have shown up to watch him die.

Suddenly, he heard the whizzing of the disc followed by a choked gasp, making him somehow snap out of shock quickly moving his head up to look at what was going on. He was met with a disc buried deep in the centre of the program's chest. His attacker dropped to his knees while his disc landed with a clatter before resting on the floor. The program was in a state of shock as he started to crumble into a pile of pixels as he watched

Right there and then, Sam felt like he was gonna throw up. He knelt there, still gasping for air as he stared at the glowing pile of pixels in front of him. He just wished he hadn't had to derez those programs. He could have helped them. He could have proven them wrong and…. No wait, they were reprogrammed by CLU to kill you. There was nothing you could have done.

Sam's mind was at war with itself but from behind him, the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer seemed to abruptly shut his mind up. The footsteps were not walking but running. He couldn't help but flinch as a pair of hands touched him. He was too tired to do anything but rest on his knee, however, he found his body was unresponsive and that's when he found it hard to keep his eyes open anymore. All he could do was fall, but he didn't reach the floor, instead, a pair of strong arms caught him.

With what he could muster, he tried to keep his eyes open and blink his vision clear as he was being lowered to the floor gently. Sam tried to turn his head up to look at his rescuer, however, he couldn't get himself to focus properly and could only see a distorted figure moving above him. 

“Who..are you,” Sam said unsteadily, trying to focus on breathing and push past the rising pain. The program was now at his side and he could see that he was wearing a mask to hide his face. 

“The name's Shaddox. I was sent to come to find you by another program," Shaddox answered, "but we need to get out of here before more programs show up." 

Shaddox then gently grabbed his arm to throw it over his shoulder as he put his arm around his back while being wary of the wound on his back before lifting him to his feet. 

Sam’s wounds didn't like the sudden movement and released a fresh wave of pain, making him take a deep breath as he closed his eyes. 

“I'm sorry,” Shaddox apologised but Sam just brushed him off with a "It's fine" and tightens his hold on the programs shoulder, feeling the firm muscle under his fingertips as they begin to stumble their way down the rest of the underground pass, leaving the piles of pixels behind them. 

….  
The journey to the main city level was mostly spent in silence with the noise of their surroundings. Shaddox didn't really say a word about anything, only looking straight ahead. Sam didn't have the energy to start a conversation with the program but right now, they were on the last few steps to the surface and then suddenly they were on the roadside of some street. 

“This sector is most abandoned by citizens as there isn't much here. Before Clu’s derezzalation, this section was heavily controlled by Clu and his forces. The program without the right authorisation, could not access most of the buildings here,” Shaddox blurted out while gently eased him back onto his shoulders for more support.

Sam lifted his head to look at him and raised an eyebrow,” Right, that's good to know. I was wondering why there were so many authorisation codes popping on every building I tried to access.

“Well it wouldn't be so hard for you, as for a User, the power is in your hands,” the program said. Sam looked toward one of the buildings in front of him. It appeared to be out of place amongst the orange lit building that surrounded it with its blue circuitry and white code that appeared in it’s damaged areas. He felt himself being pulled forwards and looked away from the building to Shaddox.

“Power can only do so much.” 

At that Shaddox looked at him while raising his eyebrow in surprise. 

Once they were across the road and far into the next street, Shaddox took them down a wide alleyway where a deactivated light runner sat. Relief washed over Sam as they got closer to the vehicle. The only other time he rode in one these was when he was rescued by Quorra on what she called the game Grid. Maybe this is the same one. 

Shaddox brought Sam to the passenger side of the running and pressed his hand flat on the door. The small circuits on the program's fingers increased their steady glow before sending out a small pulse throughout the vehicle, activating it before moving them back out of the way. There was a click and then a hiss as the hatch opened on both sides of the vehicle. 

Sam gently removed himself from the program and slowly made his way to the passenger seat. When he climbed in, Sam gingerly settled into the seat, trying to take as much pressure off his wound. 

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes and felt his body relax as he heard the passenger hatch close and Shaddox getting into the driver's seat. Then the light runner roared to life and Sam opened his eyes again to watch the program put it into gear and race off up the alley and back onto the empty streets.


	5. Baby steps

The thunder crackled across the firmament as the program looked out towards the city. He had his arms crossed over his chest as he took in a large breath to release it steadily. He wished he could go after the User, make sure he wasn't harmed, his programming urged him too, but how could he when he couldn't keep himself together. He brought his hand up to rest his chin in his hand as he looked away from the city.

The program stood there, deep in thought when he heard an engine rev. He looks down to the street below to find the familiar light runner approaching and entering one of the building's garages. 

Shaddox was back and hopefully with the User.

Shaddox had been out there for just about half a millicycle after gathering new information on the user. He would have gone after the User himself if it wasn't for the recent injuries he had sustained in a recent attack by the virus, but relief flowed through his circuitry that now the user was safe in their hands.

The program watched the streets for a few micros more before he hobbled over towards the kitchenette to one of the draws and tapped on one. It then retracted to reveal three glowing vials of liquid. The program stared at them for a micro before plucking one out and then moved to the cupboard above to pull out a big glass container filled with energy and placed it on the counter. 

It wasn't long till he heard the woosh of the main door opening and then a dull thud before the program heard his name being called.

"Tron, I need a little help over here,” Shaddox called out like he was struggling with something.

Tron left the energy and vile where they were and quickly hobbled over to Shaddox. When he got there, he saw an unconscious user hanging from the program's shoulder.

"What happened," Tron said with horror as he came closer to examine the man. There was a chance that the User had or could be injured but not unconscious. The user had several cuts on his face that were healing but as he got the back him, shock consumed him. The suit and jacket were ripped open. Tron gingerly peeled back some of the clothing to reveal a deep gash. 

At the motion, the User moaned and Tron was quick to bring his hand away. 

"I found him through the underground passage near the station. Clu's supporters were after him but from the looks of it, he managed to defeat two before the last brought him to his knees. it was close but i managed to get there in time," Shaddox explained as Tron took the User's other arm and threw it over his shoulder and then led them to the main room. 

Pain spiked Tron's sensors from the sudden pressure and he tried to push it aside as they made their way towards the couch. Before setting the User down, he checked his wound, it was still leaking out fluid, so he derezzed his jacket for better access. He needed to stop it somehow. 

Tron stopped to think for a micro before looking at Shaddox," go into the next room and grab the spare sheet from the cupboard," Shaddox nodded and pushed all the user's weight on to Tron before setting off into one room. Tron struggled for a moment before re-adjusting him so then the user was tight to his chest and his head rested on the program's shoulder. Tron had wrapped his arms around and under the user's shoulders and this moment felt a little awkward. 

"Well isn't this cute," Shaddox said as he smirked while holding the required item as he made way towards them. Tron gave him an unamused look before rolling his eyes to brush off the comment.

"I need you to tie it around him and apply pressure to his wound."

Shaddox gave him a weird look but he just dismissed it," I saw Flynn do it once when he injured his leg." 

\-----

The sound of soft waves lapping the seashore filled in his surroundings. Seagulls could be heard in the far distances, however, Sam's view was blackened. He can only hear and feel what was around him. He took in a long breath and the familiar smell of salt and felt the sunray dance across his skin, providing him warmth.

Suddenly, laughter erupted around him. He can only picture the laughter belonging to a child as they ran into the sea because what he heard next were splashing, joyful screaming and more laughter.

"Sam, be careful," a voice rang through him. Sam's heart sank at the warning. He knew that voice. it was like he was standing right next to him. Being so close but unable to see him again. His heart ached unbearably and he felt he was being swallowed up by grief as he heard heavy footsteps walking away from him.

If this was a dream couldnt he will himself to see?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, his dark vision was full of black and white images of a younger vision of himself and his dad, playing in the sea, splashing each other and all he could do was watch the scene play out in front of him.He could feel a stray tear slowly roll down his cheek and a lump formed in his throat, making it hard to breathe. He couldn't help the rush of emotion that set that single tear which turned into two, then three. 

He tried to wipe away the tears that formed, however, when he opened his eyes, he was met with a glossy white ceiling and not his bedroom ceiling. Then he remembered, he was on the grid. He must have fallen asleep in one of the buildings he was reconstructing. It's felt like he's been in the grid for days on end and to be honest, he's surprised that he hasn't been found.

Wait..didn't a program help him? 

His mind was in sorts and couldn't sort his memory out. So he began to search around him with his hand and found that he was on a couch as he continued to stare at the ceiling. Sam sniffed, blinking away the tears as he brought his hand back towards his face to rub his nose. 

Then suddenly, there was noise coming from the other side of the room, making Sam freeze and his heart began to speed up. His eyes scattered around the room to find a way out. To his right of him, there was a white glossy coffee table that had a data pad and a data pad on it. To his left wasn't really visible as the back of the couch blocked his view. There were two other smaller chairs on the other side of the coffee table and beyond the chair in front of him was a hallway to his potential escape, however, as he tried to move, pain ripped through his back like he tore open an old wound. 

Oh right…

He’d forgotten he had been injured. The past events played through his head, remembering this Shaddox program saving him and bringing him with him. He must have brought him back to his apartment or ... hideout? 

Sam tried again to move to a sitting position to bite his lip to stop him from groaning in pain, however, as he moved, he couldn't help but flinch at a pair of firm hands latching onto his shoulders to help him up. Once he was finally up, he looked down to see a sheet tightly wrapped around him and tied off on his abdomen.

The pair of hands disappeared as he continued to look at the program's work on covering his wound and suddenly he felt exposed. The hands brought unexpected safety and reassurance but before he could dwell on the feeling, the program spoke. 

“How are you feeling Sam Flynn?”

The voice seemed familiar but his heazy mind couldn't put a finger on it. 

“A mess, but alive,” Sam said while taking a measured breath. 

He could hear the program hesitated from behind him before making his way into Sam's peripheral vision, but as he looked up and the program came into his full view, Sam was left speechless, let alone struggling to keep his mouth closed. 

I couldn't be in here all the time, I needed partners..,” his father's words echoed around him,” i met a brave warrior…”

“I … i thought you were dead,” the words came out before he could stop them. 

“ I was wondering that myself when I found myself on the shore," the program said. He looked down to the program’s hands and saw the man had two oddly coloured drinks in his hands. Sam couldn't believe he was right in front of him. The bright circuit and unforgettable emblem that gave hope to all who lived on the grid, “ I’m surprised that you know who I was before him.”

How could he not? 

“Dad would tell me stories about you and when he found out you were alive, it was like he had found hope again,” even if it was for a short amount of time. Just at that thought , Sam's heart ached and he couldn't help but gulp at the sudden pressure rising in his throat. His mind needed to focus on something else, so took in the program's appearance. He was a split image of Alan when he was younger, however, the program seemed different in many ways even with the nasty injury running down his leg.

“Does it hurt?” 

Tron moved closer and handed one of the drinks to him before setting himself on the chair in front of Sam. 

“It doesn't stop me from fulfilling my purpose,” he replied not looking at Sam. 

“I find that hard to believe,” Sam remarked. He remembered how his dad fixed Quorra, and would probably guess that's how he could fix a program. He hadn't had a chance to help any programs with any injuries, with his experience of coding, he didn't really think it would be that hard, it all depended on how complex a program was. Maybe, if he would allow him, he could help him? He couldn't do it in his condition. What would he do with himself if he mucked it up? 

Sam looked down at the drink in his hand, trying to push the thought out of his mind and brought it close to his face to smell it. The drink smelled very sweet and citrusy like a mixture of lemon and strawberry, even though the colour was almost white. 

“So, what is this stuff?”

Tron had leaned over and rested his elbows on his knees as he cradled the drink and then it hit him. He looked exactly like the program at the bar. It must have been Tron and Shaddox at the bar that night, but if they were, why didn't they come and find him sooner?

“It's pure energy with a stimulus in it. It helps the program recover or at least take the “edge” off,” the program explained as he takes his first sip of the drink. 

“I guess that was what you were drinking at the bar the first night I arrived.”

The program snapped his head back towards Sam, looking caught out but he was quick to reassure the program,”I didn't recognize you as you seemed to have your circuits hidden at the time but the way you're sitting reminds me of him.”

Tron only nodded in response as he swirls the drink in his hands.

Sam felt slightly awkward in the silence between them so he decided to focus on the drink in front of him, bring it up to his nose again for a quick sniff before taking a long sip. Heat ran over his tongue and he couldn’t help but shiver when the liquid slid down his throat. In a matter of seconds, he could feel it coursing through his veins, numbing any aches in his body and tingles started spreading around his wound, dulling the pin pricks of pain that seemed to rise every time moved. 

Sam let out a sigh of relief and took another long sip, finishing the rest of the contents inside the glass before reaching over with his new found energy and placed the drink on the coffee table in front of him. 

“That was good,” Sam licked his lips taking in the excess off his lips before trying to stand up, however, that seemed to be the wrong move to make when his legs gave out before he could stand up straight. There were sounds of movement from in front of him and then he felt those same firm hands on both of his biceps, holding him up before he reached the floor. 

“Careful, you're still weak. The drink can only do so much even though you are a user, there are still limeration,” Tron was right, his body so desperately needed the rest, he hadn't even been asleep that long in his world and barely got and an ounce here, but the opinion to sleep wasn't really available if he didn't want to be captured and he needed to help fix what he could of the grid from the inside while he waited for Quorra to reopen the portal. He knew she was still asleep and will be until noon, so he knew that it wouldn't be open anytime soon. 

Tron brought him close to his chest as he moved him back onto the couch, he could feel heat and the faint smell of ozone emanate off the program, however, there was underlining noise coming from him, like the one from his dream. The same broken purr but there was difference between them both and that Tron sounded more like a purring cat. 

Sam pulled away a little from Tron as he settled back on to the couch. Tron let go of Sam to sit next to him. The program reached forward to the knotted sheets tied around Sam's middle, to untie it and pull the fabric loose. Tron pulled the sheet away from the wound to have a look. 

“How does it look?” his question was slightly laced with a little curiosity and concern. He was hoping it wasn't that bad but he was also curious about the amount of knowledge that Tron knew about users. He could just put it all done to his dad but did he get injured this bad?

“The drink has accelerated the regeneration of skin over your wound and the bleeding has stopped,” Tron pulled away from the wound and began to tighten it back up again, but sam quickly grabbed his hands “i'll do it” 

Tron sat up straight, putting his hands in his lap, watching as Sam undid the sheets completely and putting them to the side before trying to reach for his disc, however was stopped when pain started to flare up from his wound. He huffed and then looked back at Tron, who seemed to be watching his every move.l. 

“ummm...could you grab my disc for me?” 

Sam watched as the program's expression quickly and Tron looked at Sam like he was mad for a moment. 

“I….,” tron stuttered.

“Please,” by the way Tron was looking, he thought he had done something wrong….wait where programs allowed to touch a users disc.Sam thought back to when they lost his Dad’s disc, the program used a device to take the disc and when he found the disc, it was floating on it’s own pedestal in Clu’s thrown ship, “you can hold it,”

Tron turned away from him to disconnect the disc from his back and handed it to him like a sacred gift that was made of glass. Sam could still tell Tron was uncomfortable with the request even if he was now hiding under a neutral expression. 

He took the disc out of his hands and placed it on to his lap as he activated the display. He tapped on the several tabs to bring up the code for his suit and found the small patch of damaged code. It took barely two minutes to repair the damage code before Sam looked back up towards tron, who was staring off towards the direction of the hallway. Sam followed his gaze to then find that there was another program, leaning on the wall with his arms cross. This wasn't just any program, Sam recognized him in a second.

“Good, you're awake and you haven't derezzed him yet,” Shaddox said with a hit of sarcasm as he stood watching them amused.

Sam let out a light-hearted scoff to brush off the comment and slowly turned away from the program to Tron, to hand him back his disc for him to dock it back into place. But in the back of his mind, he wondered if the comment was directed at him or Tron. Did Rinzler still exist in him?

Once the disc was back in place, he could feel the suit beginning to repair itself, however, he slightly became uncomfortable as it began to cover his healing wound. He couldn't help but winces a few times as the suit applied more and more pressure onto the wound.

“Are you alright?” Tron's voice was woven with general concern as he cocked his head slightly to the side. 

“Yeah I'm fine, just trying to get used to it,” it didn't take long for the suit to finish repairs and the discomfort was easier to bear with.

While Tron slightly fussed over Sam a bit, they hadn't realised Shaddox had moved from his spot from the wall. The noise of glasses clinking together could be heard from the kitchenette. 

“I don't know about you but my circuits could use a refreshment,” Tron turned away from Sam to turn toward Shaddox to raise an eyebrow at him which the program just shrugged it off and came over a carafe full of what looked like energy and a glass for himself. 

“Well i got one of the others to scan the light runner for any tamping or tracking devices which came up negative but on the light runners recording, there were several of Clu’s pertols sniffing around it,” shaddox said as he sat down in Tron’s previous seat before reaching over to filled his glass, refill Sam’s and topping up Tron’s.

“Hummm..that to be expected for that sector but it's good that they didn't think to put a tracker on it, the programs must of been guards and not soldiers,” Tron had shifted away from Sam to relax a bit into the couch before being handed their glasses of energy and proceeded to Sam his.

Sam proceeded to get comfy himself, moving further onto the couch, resting his left arm over the back of the low back of the couch and tucking one of his legs under the other, however, as he made himself comfy, he noticed a long table that had data pads, scattered over it. Maybe later he could have a look at them and catch up on any development on the virus and Clu’s supporters are. 

“Did any of the other programs spot any more sightings of the infestation or rampant programs?” Tron questions as he could a sip of his drink. Sam's curious mind wondered if the programs were the same way as users when they drank too much. 

“Kix was in the same area as i was when i found Sam Flynn and reported that station is beginning to glitch and small amounts of the virus have started to appear,” Shaddox said disheartedly as leaned back into his seat, 

“When i was moving through sectors i saw several all infestations, the first one i encountered tried to swallow me up, it's a good thing that i programed a set of containment and quarantine protocols before sucked onto the grid again,” Sam was grateful that he actual thinking of updating and adding new protocols,” i've also been cataloging them as well so when Quorra can find out what’s wrong on the other side and open the portal,” 

Both programs looked at him in surprise and shock.

“What? I'm not completely useless,” Sam joked. 

“The ISO’s alive?”Shaddox was surprised while Tron seemed increasingly uncomfortable. He seemed to have zoned out for a bit before looking completely away from Sam and took a large sip of drink before bringing his hand up to wipe his mouth, Sam knew Tron would be uncomfortable with the mention of the purge, forcely being Clu’s right hand man. He couldn't imagine what things he was made to do. Sam tightened in sadness and had to hold himself back from giving him a reassuring hug or squeeze on the shoulder. He remembered waking to Quorra's recent nightmares and would either stay up with her till sunrise or hold her till she fell asleep. 

“Yeah she is. She's currently asleep in Dad's office so I've got a couple of weeks, I think, until the portal is back open,” Sam looked at his drink but couldn't help but stifle a yawn as the sudden wave sleepiness washed over him, “There one thing I have to ask, in one sector there had seemed to have been a battle of some sort, do you know what happened?” 

“A few cycles ago, there was a vacuum of power after Clu’s demise. Mostly Clu’s higher ranking officer fought for it but then the people wanted someone who was reliable and not a power hungry bit brain, however, it didn't end well and many derezzed, the battle stopped because of the virus. Clu’s supporters have their own territories but there isn't really a nature zone,” Shaddox explained.

“And I guess you guys were a part of the fight then?”

“Partly, some program did not agree with Tron’s sudden appearance and turned on us. Only a handful programs came with us and now we live in secret.”

“And that's how you got injured?” Sam asked Tron as he looked towards him, who was taking a final sip of his drink but shook his head. 

“No, we were ambushed by a group of infected programs. We managed to defeat them and no one was derezzed but Tron seemed to be the only one who sustained any injuries,” Shaddox answered. 

“If you want i could…” Sam was cut off by a stirn “No” from Tron, before getting up from the couch and slamming his glass onto the coffee table. He then made a beeline out of the room. Shock at Tron's reaction transitioned into guilt. His clever brain was not thinking and he's gone and pushed the wrong button.

Well done genius 

There was silence between the user and the other program. The urge to get up and apologize grew but before he could muster the strength to get up, shaddox stopped him. 

“Leave him, he’ll calm down soon,” Shaddox tried to reassure him.

“I should go and apologize.”

“No, he knows you mean well and he knows he has a chance to get healed. Just give him a millicycle or two and he may come to you,'' Shaddox gave him a smile that didnt do anything to ease his guilt and worry but Sam could give him a nod. 

“Come on, I think it's time to go into sleep mode, it looks like you need it and I bet that drink that Tron gave you is starting to wear off?” he couldn't lie, he could feel the effects already wearing off and the idea of sleeping for a few more hours seemed to be a good idea. He looked at his untouched drink and reached over again to place it back to the coffee table before looking at shaddox.

“Could i have some help getting up?” he wasn't even gonna try and get up on his own. He wasn't going to embarrass himself in front of another program. 

Shaddox was already up and making his way to him and helping him up to his feet. The first few steps were a struggle as his feet ache unbearably like he was walking on legos that had been left out. 

“I'll put you in Trons room as he doesnt use it anyway,” as they stumbled down the hallway before turning to the door on his right and opening it. 

The room inside was bare. A large window took up the entire wall, looking out to another part of the city. There was a chair and a small table by the window and the bed was planted right in the middle of the room with the headrest up against the wall.  
The large window allowed the city lights cast into the room creating an atmosphere of privacy and solitude . The bed was the most desired thing in the room and so he tried to peel himself away from the program to slowly make it to the bed. He gently touched the sheets, feeling the soft texture under his fingertips and then grabbed them to pull them. 

Shaddox still stood by the door watching him as Sam gingerly sat down onto the bed before speaking,”I will leave you to rest.”

Sam nodded in response as he just sat there looking out towards the city. A few seconds later, he heard the door hiss shut and then he was alone again. 

…..

TNV

The wind blew through his hair as he listened to his surroundings. He could remember streets full of noise, hearing lightcycles race on by and recognizers flying overhead. Before the coup, the streets were alive and full of people, free to do whatever they pleased. They still had their fair share of problems but the Grid wasn't run by harsh rules and people weren't forced to do something that was against their programming. 

He could still hear the screams of every program he ever hunted as Rinzler. Flashbacks would catch him at any point and all he does is watch. He remembers the internal struggles that he and Rinzler had over control. Everytime Rinzler would hurt or derezz other programs, it was a way for Clu to torture him and break his spirit and final it did. Clu would from time to time, access his disc to check if the overrides were in place and mess around with his program for fun as it created unnecessary pain to remind him who was in charge. He stopped fighting until the millicycle he met Sam in the arena which gave him a new sense of determination to break free. 

But he can't forget the amount of friends that he's lost. He had lost Yori even before the coup but Beck was like a User's son to him. The day that he was captured but Clu’s forces was the last time he saw the young program. He didn't know if he was still alive and was hiding out in this city. The city of Argon had unfortunately been destroyed because of mass growth of resistance by the people and then after that , what was left of the other cities on the Grid, fell into place.

He just assumes he was derezzed with the rest of his friends.

But the suggestion of another user accessing his disc frightened him. He knew Sam wouldn't do no harm because he saw how much the Grid's improved ever since the user got here, but he did not want anyone else to access his disc. He didn't want anyone else messing with him. 

Tron took in a deep breath and looked up to the sky. 

He wasn't the program he used to be. He wanted to save and protect programs, like he used too but most programs saw him as Rinzler than Tron. He was surprised Sam wasn't scared of him, the user just stared at him in awe. 

“Tron,” Shaddox’s voice came from behind him,” are you alright?”

“Yeah, I'm sorry I shouldn't have stormed out like that, “ he apologises but he doesn't turn around. He looks away from the sky back towards the city, taking in another steady breath, continuing to listen to the peaceful humming and the glimpse of noise from the city’s road and highways in the distance. 

He stood there for a minute longer and then turned to face Shaddox. When he noticed that the user wasn't with him, he lifted a brow. 

“Where is Sam Flynn?”

“Sleep mode. The stimulant was wearing off and he looked like he was about to crash,” Shaddox answered as he began to walk closer to Tron, “ he wanted to apologise but i stopped him and sent him to bed.”

They both chuckled at that.

“He shouldn't have too, he doesn't know the full story,” tron gave the other program a sad smile. Shaddox moved forwards to put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, quietly saying ,” its okay.” Tron nodded and looked away and let out a heavy sigh. 

“Come on, the user won't be up for a while, so let's see how the others are, I need to check on Kix and get a full report on the station anyways,” he suggested as he tried to pull Tron with him. Tron did not resist and started walking with his friend to the awaiting elevator. Shaddox popped a joke about grid bugs, making Tron laugh as they walked to the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a long time, i know. i was also thinking if i should add another chapter to USERS? Comment if i should.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam was out like a light when his head hit the pillow and now he can't stop staring at the ceiling. His wound was now resorted to a dull ache that was fully scabbed over but the other on his arm began to itch. He could feel the sensation grow and the temptation to scratch it was becoming unbearable. The little time he had to himself before shaddox found him, he would sink into his own code to fish out the virus. His own immune system or digital anti virus, seemed to keep it contained in one area. For him, it was like a user infection and not a complete highjacking.

He let out a big yawn and began to stretch, wincing a little as the wound stretched with him and then rolled himself over to face the window. He gave himself a few micros to take in the view of the city before pulling himself up to sit up straight. They weren't very high up but they were high enough to see over the tops of buildings to see tall structures in the distance. He looked to his left arm as he brought his right arm to derez a patch of his suit to uncover the infection. To his surprise, the itching was actually a sign of healing and the horrible discolouration was starting to clear up. 

He couldn't help but feel guilty that he could recover from a virus that's taking hundreds of programs lives. Well it's a good thing he's a user as he could do something about or something to help.

Sam looked away from the window to take in the room properly this time and noticed a glass sitting next to what looked like a data pad on top of the side table next to the chair in the corner of the room. . 

Sam slowly pushed himself off the bed to his feet and shuffled to the table and picked up the drink as while as the datapad to read it.

This is for you for when you wake….Tron

Sam's heart swelled with awe and the guilt rose. He didn't need to do this, Sam still thought he needed to apologize to the program for even suggesting it. Maybe this is his way to tell him it's okay? Even still, he wanted to apologize. Maybe Tron is in the next room, reading over the data pads he saw scattered over the table. Maybe this is his chance to apologize to him now?

He looked at the drink and gave it a quick sniff before gulping it down and placing both pad and glass down back on top of the table before turning and making his way towards the door. The effects of the drink were starting to take effect, clearing his sleepy head, but suddenly as he walked out into the hallway, he felt something or someone collide with him.

He stumbled back and shook his head. He then blinked and all looked around to meet a female program gathering her data pads from the floor.

“Ah, I'm sorry, I should have been watching where i'm going,” the program rambled on as sam crouched down to help pick up the remaining data pads. They both got up as she still juggled with pads and he handed the rest to her but suddenly, screeched as she looked up to see who she had bumped into.

“Oh my users, it's you,” she squealed, clenching the datapads close to her chest. From behind him he heard objects being dropped and footsteps rushing over. Sam didn't know how to respond to the sudden surprise but he couldn't help but notice the program’s features as she kept her eyes glued to him. She had short hair, either sides were two different lengths, with a strip of white hair on the longest side of her hair. She had warm chocolate brown eyes that laid under a set of perfectly arched eyebrows and a small nose that matched her thin lips. She had a round face with a set of high cheekbones that made her look younger than what she properly is if she was in the user world. 

Sam gave her a smile and stood up still holding the data pads and offered his his free hand out to help her up. The program watched with awe and seemed to lose the ability to keep her mouth shut. She shuffled her pads to her left arm and took Sam's hand in the other. Sam pulled her up but didn't let go of her hand but proceeded to shake it.

“Nice to meet you. It was me who wasn't looking where i was going,” he reassured her as he let go of her hand. She finally closed her mouth and let out a big smile across her face.

“I'm so glad you are here, Sam Flynn. My name is Pheonix, I'm a search program,” she introduced herself. Sam greeted in kind and noticed the small yellow circuits mixed with blue circuits. This must have been to identify the programs belief and programming. He had seen various programs with different coloured circuitry and he kinda pieced it together but was still unsure as Clu’s supporters were always full on orange and red.

“Here, these are yours,” Sam said, giving her the data pads. She popped them top of her growing pile and Sam stepped out of her way so then she could carry on walking into the next room. She gave him a “thank you” as she passed him to walk into the living room and saw Tron and Shaddox standing in the kitchenette in view of the hallway. He smiled at them and proceeded to walk to them. Shaddox nodded at him before walking off, probably to help Phoenix with the pads but Tron stayed rooted to the spot.

“What happened just then?” Tron asked as he raised an eyebrow. 

“It's nothing, just bumping into programs, that's all,” Sam chuckled as Tron relaxed his facial features. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“I feel much better. It still hurts but not as much as it did but I'm okay,” Sam gave him a genuine smile and then a “ thank you” to then realise he had placed a hand on the program’s bisep. He could feel the warmth and reassurance with a hit of surprise transfer through the point of contact and it was like emotions were being transferred between each other. He quickly withdrew the hand and looked away to scratch his neck.

“Uhhh,” Why did he do that? 

“Are you okay, Sam Flynn,” Sam looked up to find Tron giving him an odd look. Didn't he feel uncomfortable touching him?

“Uhh yeah sorry,” Sam looked to his left to find Phoenix and shaddox peering over a holomap with data pads scattered on the table. It was Sam's turn to giving Tron the raised eyebrows as he turned back to him,” what are you guys up too?” 

“We are planning our next move on the virus. We can't waste anymore time as the virus is growing fast. We had several more reports and more programs being infected,” Tron explained.

More programs being infected. Could they be saved?

“Is there any way to help them?” he said with desperation in his voice. 

“With you here, we finally have a chance,” he gave him a soft smile which made Sam’s stomach flutter out of nowhere. The sign of hope in his eye was the first time he had seen other than guarded emotions but the need to apologize to him still nagged at him.

“Hey, I… I just wanted to apologise for last night. I should really think before i speak sometime,” he couldn't help but stutter and give the program a shy worried smile before looking down in worry of rejection, but it didn't come, instead, Sam felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, making him look back at him

“It's fine Sam Flynn, I knew you didn't mean any harm.” 

Sam still didn't feel satisfied with Tron’s forgiveness. For some reason, he expected the program to shout at him or dismiss him. He shouldn't really trust him because he could access his disc on the other side if he could, but, maybe Tron trusted him enough not to do that or because there were bigger things at stake.

“Well anyways, i'll keep my trap shut until You,'' Sam pointed at the program before continuing, ”come to me if anything troubles you or just..anything really,” Sam stopped pointing and then gave him a genuine look. He wanted him to know he had someone to talk too. Someone he could come to in a moment of weakness. He just wanted the program wasn't alone.

Tron was slightly taken aback but before he could open his mouth, Sam quickly cut him off.

“Also, just call me Sam. you don't always have to call me by my full name ,” Sam smiled at him and replied,”of course, Sam.”

They both chuckled until they were both interrupted with a clearing of someone's throat. It was Shaddox of course. Tron nodded with the side of his head to the direction of Shaddox and Phoenix in a “come on” motion and then proceeded to join them at the table.

….

“Thank you for finally joining us,” Shaddox said sarcastically as Tron took a seat while Sam perched himself on the other side of the table. Sam put his hand up as a way of apologising before Shaddox continued,” Kix will be joining us as she could get anyone to cover for her until later.” 

The others nodded their heads as Sam wondered who this other program was, but he would just have to wait and see.

“From what information we could gather in a short amount of time, it seems that the virus is targeting the train stations around the city,” Phoenix starts as she highlights several points on the map, “ it has already taken out two stations already, the one that is closest to us is the one on the outskirts of clu’s tertorie and since Sam worked his Users powers and cleared the most heavily infected sector in the east, it has moved to the south and has taken the south station,” two of the highlighted point flared red.

Sam crossed his arms and brought his hand up to hold his chin trying to process the new information as he listened. 

“Has there been any more sightings of where the virus's new source of origin is now?” Tron questions, eyes briefly gazing over to Sam from his peripheral vision before looking back at both Shaddox and Phoenix. Maybe the stations are a clue? 

“First of all, where did the virus come from? Was it a system failure from after the reintegration?” Sam interrupted before either of the other two programs could speak. He straightens a bit on the table, awaiting their answer to only get odd looks. 

“Wasn't it on the logs?” Tron asked, confused. 

“I hadn't had a chance to have a look, there were so many error codes that wouldn't let me even access it. The only thing i could do was fix the portal,” Sam replied slightly regretfully. 

“We don't know much about the virus and what it does to a program as it is different to every program it infects. We also know that it infested Clu’s HQ but now it seems that migrated somewhere else,” Phoenix confessed. 

“Right...the first few hours from when I arrived on the Grid I had my first encounter one, they started talking to me about “time is ticking,” they do that right?” The memory of what the program said to him before the portal shut down, sent a shiver down his spin.

“There are whispers that they can talk but we haven't actually heard any of them speak,” Shaddox replied instead of Phoenix. He picked up a padd and started typing as he spoke. Sam just assumed that he was adding the new information to what they knew. 

Tron seemed to be curious at Sam’s use of quotations of “time is ticking.”

“What do you think they meant by that?”

Sam shrugged,” at the time i thought they were talking about the portal because that was when it closed.”

Tron didn't say anything after that, he just brought his hand up to stroke his chin as he casted his eye down to the floor, mimicking Sam earlier. Shaddox and Phoenix were both back to leaning over the data pads amongst them. They were probably reading through the information again to make sure it was all correct but maybe he'll look through them himself later. 

He sat there pondering for a moment and turned his attention to the city beyond the window beside him. He could see reflection staring back at him before he really focused on the city. So the virus came out of nowhere and its last known source of activity was at the HQ, so it would make sense that the virus originated there, instead of choosing it as their hideout. 

Sam turned back towards the three programs, “Has anyone explored Clu’s HQ since the infection has been cleared?”

The three turned their attention towards Sam at his question. 

“No, we haven't had the chance and by now Clu’s supporters may have already invaded the area,” Tron said,” as you already know, they are also another problem on our hands. They are trying to take back control of the grid in Clu’s name and if they have claimed back that area, they will become even harder to defeat.”

So they were between a rock and hard place.

“Let’s say that they haven't yet, I think that whatevers in Clu’s headquarters may hold a crucial clue how this virus came about?”

“Well how would we know what we would be looking for? We don't even have the layout of the compound” Phoenix questioned doubtfully. 

“Well it’s a good thing I'm a user,” Sam assured, earning a scoff from one of the programs,” when we are there, i can access one of the terminals and download the layout and transfer them to you guys if i can and we can split up and search in different areas.” 

“Sounds very risky,”Tron said sceptical. He was right. They could be walking to their deaths and the Grid would be doomed, he would be leaving Alan alone again like his father, let alone any guidance on what to do with Quorra. Like he had an idea what to do with his father's miracle, but they needed to look somewhere to find any clues and the HQ seemed to be the best place to look. 

“Yeah, i know but if we have any chance of finding what caused this then this is the best place to look,” Sam stood up from the table as a feeling ran through him and turned away from them to begin pacing with his hand rubbing his chin. It felt like something wasn't right or like something was coming, but what? 

“Sam?” Tron asked, a bit confused at what he was doing.

“Just trying to get my brain to think,” Sam paused his pacing,” how do you guys communicate like for example when you are on lightcycles?”

“There are small communicators in our helmets but we can send pings via terminal or data pad if they are in the same building,” Shaddox explained as he put the pads back down on the table and then asked, “why?”

“Ah okay, i never know that. That's good to know,” Sam knew it was a random question and far from the topic that they were discussing but it was something to take his mind off of the sudden dread he was feeling. 

“Anyways I think we should wait until Kix can be with us,” Tron said as he began to get up from his chair to then hobble to the kitchenette. 

“I can send a summary report to her data pad and tell her to meet us at the compound?” Phoenix suggested openly as she raised an eyebrow at Tron. 

“Send it just in case,” Tron agreed as he poured himself a glass of energy. Sam turned his attention back to the window to look at the streets below. There were a few blobs that were programs walking by and disappearing into the street. His brain was still nagging at him for something but he couldn't put a finger on it. He looked up from the views of the street below to see smoke rising from a few blocks away. 

“Something isn't right,” Sam heard Tron say with concern, making Sam frown and slowly raised his hand to touch the cold glass. He could feel their eyes on him as he continued to stare at where the smoke was coming from. 

Suddenly, he could hear footsteps rushing over to him but he couldn't look away from the spot from where the smoke was coming from and then there was a bright flash before letting out a horrendous boom. Sam couldn't help cover his face with his arm from the flash as he felt the building shake and the glass rattle in front of him. 

“Oh my Users, what was that,” Phoenix shouted in disbelief as Sam brought his arm down to look back at where the explosion happened. The smoke was bigger and covering a larger portion of the street. He could see a building fall under the damage it sustained, bringing up more smoke up, spreading over to the other streets. 

“We need to go.”

Sam hadn't noticed the team talking as they were heading out the room while he continued to stare at the window. Tron called his name as he felt a hand grab hold of his arm, knocking out of his daze. He turned to Tron, who had a serious look on his face and nodded towards the door. Sam nodded at him before they both marched towards the door at the end of the narrow hallway that led out of the apartment into a bigger hallway. Sam's mind was still trying to process and work out what just happened as they caught up to Phoenix and Shaddox at the elevator. 

“Sam, I need you to stick close to me. We don't know who may have caused this,” Tron instructed as they waited for the elevator. Sam didn't argue with Tron and turned his head to look at Tron with a slightly worried expression. He dealt with fights and people wanting his neck but nothing like this. He needed to get his head in the game.

They didn't have to wait very long for the elevator to chimed and opened to allow them in but as the three programs got in, Sam saw Tron’s armour shift as covering over the circuits over his fingers and hands and as Tron to face him, he saw that the unmistakable emblem had disappeared, leaving behind an empty patch at the base of neck. Sam just watched him as he stepped in the elevator himself and rezzed his helmet while he turned to face the now closing doors. 

….

They sped down the streets which were filled with programs either fleeing or trying to find out what was going on. As they travelled closer to where the explosion happened, the smoke was beginning to appear, devouring the streets. They had to swerve a few times, trying to avoid the few programs that were on the road. 

From what Sam could see, most the street they were on was untouched as he continued to keep his eyes on the broad circuit that lined the sidewalk and the middle of the road. Tron hadn't said a word ever since they left the garage but the small presences of his purr could be heard. If he didn’t say so himself, the noise was quite comforting. He didn't really think he would and from what he remember of Rinzler, it made him more like a predator than a program. 

Sam looked away from the passenger window after the circuit disappeared into the now thick smoke. The area was a thick grey and the runners' headlights did nothing to penetrate it. 

Tron slowed the lightrunner to a halt, knowing that they couldn't go any further. Shaddox showed up close on his right through the window on his light cycle while Phoenix appeared on their left. Tron nodded to both of them before switching off the engines. Tron looked at him through his helmet,” stay alert.” 

Sam turned his head to him and nodded before opening the hatch to get out. Shaddox was picking up his baton when Sam closed the hatch of the lightrunner. The wound on his back flared a little as he closed it but Sam just brushed it off as he turned to Shaddox. He heard the faint click as the light runner was locked and the glow diminished, leaving only their circuits the only light source in the smoke. They all moved to the front of the vehicle before heading deeper into the smoke. 

There was a kind of spooky intense feel to their surroundings as they continued to walk down the empty road. At any second, Sam felt like someone was about to jump out and scare him. He didn't get scared easily, but with the current situation anything made him feel on edge. He took in a deep breath, trying to slow his racing heart. However, it was short lived as he heard something rattle from behind him. It was a good thing that Sam was wearing a mask as no one could hear the sharp intake of breath before turning to see what it was. 

Tron noticed Sam stopped, ”what is it Sam?”

Sam looked back to Tron and was slightly freaked out when all three masked heads were looking at him. 

“er , i thought i heard something coming from other there,” Sam pointed at where he was looking in the smoke. They didn't have a chance to scout it out when a high pitch scream filled their surroundings, making them all turn towards the direction of the scream. Shaddox and Phoenix pulled out their discs ready as footsteps could be heard running towards them. 

Sam thought the scream was different to the one that the infected let out when they attacked. Maybe this is a program? 

His suspicions were confirmed, when a female program fell to the ground in front of them. She didn't seem to see them as she turned to see who was crashing her and continued to frantically shuffle back until she was on top of Tron’s feet and banging into his legs. She jumped, letting out a shriek, moving away as Tron let a pained hiss. She must of aggravated the wound on his leg.

She frantically looked between the four of them in fear and started to sob, putting her hands in front of her in an attempt to keep them away. 

“Please, please don't hurt me,” she begged. Whatever was chasing her kept a safe distance in the smoke, far enough away from them where they couldn't see their circuits. They could hear panting and short growls for a micro before it seemed to have run off. 

Sam hastily moved forward to grab hold of the panicked program, trying to put her arms down and stopping her pulling away.

“Hey, hey we aren't going to hurt,” he tried to assure her as he crouched in front of her. 

She didn't seem to stop her panic as Sam tried to keep a firm hold on her, “ yes you are, you are either one of them or one of Clu’s.”

Sam looked up to Tron who was watching this all play out in front of him. Phoenix and Shaddox were still in an alerted stance with their discs drawn. 

“What happened?” Tron said firmly as the female program continued to keep thrashing trying to shake Sam off her. 

“No no i'm not doing this. Get away from me,” she screamed, violently clawing at Sam’s hands, making him let go. 

Suddenly, Sam is violently nudged, making him lose balance as he tries to grab onto the program or onto something as he falls to the ground, landing on his wounded back. The pain consumes him and can't help but groan when he lands. The program makes a break for it, dodging Tron’s effort to catch her and runs off into the smoke, probably never to be seen again. For his peripheral vision, Shaddox and Phoenix tried to run after her, but Tron’s firm unwavering voice stopped them in their tracks before they went too far away from them. 

Sam laid there on his back for a few nanoseconds, clearing the remaining black dots that had suddenly appeared in the corners of his vision. Tron appeared, towering over him with his hand extended out. 

“Are you okay?” Tron asked as he took his hand to be pulled up. The program hulled him up to his feet but didn't let go of his hand. He could feel the transfer of the programs concerned emotions flow through him. Sam looked to him and squeezed his hand for reassurance as he nodded. 

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Sam let go of his hand to brush himself off, “come on, let's get moving. The explosion site shouldnt be too far, right?” 

Tron nodded and then turned to the other two programs, who then docked their disc back onto their back and then they began walking further into the smoke. 

…….

It wasn't long until they arrived at what seemed to be the area of the exploration. From what they could see, it was consumed with orange and yellowy-green programs dancing in the smoke. Screams could be heard as programs on either side were struck by their opponent. It was a battle, a battle that would get them killed if they partook in.. There was large chunks of debris scattered around them with dimly lit flames dotted around the street and enveloping a few buildings close by. There were light cars slowly derezzing, their code falling to the floor like a waterfall. 

At this current time, the group were crouched behind a few overturned light cars on either side of the road.

“What are we gonna do?" Sam said over the com to the others. Tron peered over to take another look at the fight that was going down. 

“This is too much of a risk for just the four of us to stop,” Tron admitted defeated, at least he knew where to draw the line. 

“Maybe this is our chance to infiltrate the compound?” Phoenix replied over the com, her and Shaddox were crouched by the other overturned car. 

“Maybe, but we need to contain the area first,” Tron said adamantly. 

“How are we supposed to do that?” Shaddox questioned. 

“I could put a containment field around the area?” Sam suggested but Tron shook his head,” okay then, i could put one blocking this road and on a few other streets so then when they stop fighting, they could be led somewhere else?” 

“I'm not sure it will really work but it's worth a shot , Tron,” Shaddox agreed. 

Tron let out an “alright” before Sam rested his palm on the rocky ground and breathed in deep. The ground lit up under his hand and then the familiar display popped up and he began to work his magic. He could feel Tron’s eye watching him attentively as he moved through several Grid protocols before another display popped up revealing a mini map. He moved to the mini map, viewing the best possible place to put the barrier around the explosion site. After that, he enlarged it to then highlight the area around them leaving one street way open while making sure that they were behind one of the barriers. He continued to draw a curved line on the mini map that went into streets, creating an oddly shaped U-shape before closing the mini map and pushing himself off the ground to look over to see a bright white line begin to form on the road before them. 

After it connected to the other side of the street, it emitted a white barrier. The white barrier seemed to drown out the other colours on the other side of it, so Sam stood straighter to then turned to Tron and the others.

“Come on, I've blocked off this part of this area but we need to move before the smoke clears,” Sam urged as the three programs got up. They didn't give the barrier another look before they all disappeared into the smoke. 

“Shaddox, Phoenix, me and Sam are gonna have to head back to the lightrunner, I need you two go scout on ahead and see where the best point of entry is,” Tron instructed as they continued to jog down the street. They were coming up on a turn off point that they came across earlier. 

The two programs nodded but before they could leave, Tron added,” put your trackers on, we will be close behind but once you've located the safest entry stay there and we will come to you.”

“Understood,” Shaddox said as they broke off from Tron and Sam before rezzing their lightcycles and sped off.


	7. Pressure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i sorry for not getting this to you sooner but it's here now. i will warn you there is some more violence. i may be altering the chapter before and ill tell you in the next chapter if I have or if you follow my Tumblr it will be on there. Also, feel to message me on anything you want to see on Mnmentry Bliss.

The jog back to the lightrunner was thankfully uneventful. They hadn't encountered any more programs on their way back and now the two are speeding down the same road that Shaddox and Phoenix went down. The smoke seemed to be clearing up the more distance they put between them and the explosion site. Once they turned off onto an empty highway, the bright white barrier could be seen over the building. He was quite shocked how far he put and how tall it was. 

“Impressive” Tron remarked, not taking his eyes off the road. Sam turned his head towards the program and a gentle smile as thanks. Tron saw the smile from the corner of his eye, through his helmet and nodded back to him in return.

“Do you know if the report made it to Kix’s pad at all?” Sam asked. Before they left the garage, he saw Phoenix was typing it out as they walked. He watched as her fingertips flew across the screen before closing it before giving Tron a thumbs up. By that time, Tron was sitting in the lightrunner while Sam was getting comfy. 

“We are just going to have to wait and see,” Tron replied quickly as he changed gear and swerved to avoid a large gap in the road. Sam leaned over to look out of the passenger window to look at it. Sam's stomach lurched at the huge drop to the streets below as they went past. He gulped and sat back in his seat, taking in a deep breath. Tron swerved a few more times to avoid bits of debris, making Sam jostle a few times in his seat. He held onto the door handle, trying to stop himself from being chucked around too much as Tron continued at his current speed. 

“I don't know how Phoenix and Shaddox got through this,” he commented as he let out a deep breath. 

Tron swerved again before answering,” They went a different way, we can't attract too much attention towards ourselves.” 

“Well, I wish we went on their route,” Sam grumbled as he was jostled in his seat again. Tron didn't respond, still keeping his eye on the road, but a small chuckle came from the program, barely reaching the Users ears. Sam turned to him, giving the program a half-hearted glare. 

“You think this is funny, don't you?”Sam questioned, stating the obvious as he raised his eyebrow. Tron shrugged and then suddenly took a sharp left onto the other side of the road, dodging a large pill up of light trucks and cars. In the process, Sam lost his grip on the door handle, to then be flung almost into Tron’s lap but was stopped by his own hands, one gripping the central panel between them and the other gripping Tron’s shoulder. 

The rush of emotion through their connection made him slightly dizzy. The sensations of dread and fear coursed through him which quickly dissipated as quickly as he let go of the program's shoulder. Sam felt alarmed by what he felt from the program.

“I… sorry I didn't mean too,” he stuttered as he drew away, he didn't see Tron’s hands tighten and relax on the lightrunner's controls while he stared at Tron seeing his distorted reflection staring back at him from the side of the program's helmet. 

“It's fine,” the program said flatly before changing gear,” hold on” and then Sam was flung back into his seat before being righted. He turned to the windscreen and saw up some sort of ramp in the road. Sam quickly grabbed the door handle and braced himself. The lightrunner was only in the air but the time slowed as he felt himself slightly being lifted from his seat before being slammed back into it as they landed. 

Sam let out an oomph as his back hit the seat, knocking the wind out of him and aggravating the wound on his back. 

“What the..”

“Part of the highway was missing,” Tron explained.

“No shit, why?” Sam took in a breath to try and calm his racing heart.

“We had to block off this part back of the virus, and as this is one of the main ways to get into the heart of the city, so we blew a hole in it. This is our in but we'll have to go with the others on the way back.” 

Oh right, the bartender mentioned about trying to blockade the area around Clu’s HQ. Tron kept the runner on the smoothest part of the road, while still making small swerves here and there. Sam looked around him, watching the buildings pass by. They seemed to hang over them as they passed. The road lowered a little before Tron took a wide left, following the road and out of the tall overhanging buildings, revealing the building they were looking for.

The compound was larger than he expected. It was on a more elevated platform than the rest of the Grid. The runway with dark objects scattered along with it. Stuck right in the middle on the compound was the main tower. It was shaped like a slanted spike that was stuck in the ground without any light emitting off it like the rest of the city. The tower just looked dead.  
Tron turned the runner in the direction of a fast-approaching exit off the highway, losing sight of the compound as they dipped into the coverings of the ruined empty buildings that surrounded the compound, however, once they moved onto the next street, the two came upon a problem. Tron slowed the runner to halt in front of a complete mess of their surroundings. More debris, trucks, cars and random containers blocked the streets and blocked any attempt of getting past. 

The light runner powered down and the side doors opened with a soft hiss. Tron was already moving as Sam activated his helmet before climbing out of the vehicle. The buildings around them wined and moaned as a breath of wind swept through the street as they cautiously walked into the middle of the street. Sam turns to look at all the barricades blocking entries to three other streets. 

“Which way?” he asked over the comm. Tron pointed to the blockade in front of them as he responded with “this way” and then started walking to it before climbing on top of a car that was part of it. Sam went to catch up with Tron, who was standing sideways on the car from him. He couldn't help but take a second to take in the program who was now looking away from him. He felt himself gulp and his heart flutter. He still couldn't believe he is even in the presence of his childhood hero. Sam remembered keeping a little action figure that was given to him prior to his dad disappearing. One of the only things that reminded him of Dad which also gave him a little comfort in his darkest moments as his younger self believed he was there to protect him whilst on their newest adventure.

Now standing in front of him, standing tall with a guarded demeanour even after all that has happened to him. He looked bare with all his famous circuitry all covered, it was like he had been stripped of his title after everything that happened like he didn't deserve to wear them out in public. But it wasn't his fault, he had no choice with what Clu did to him. 

Sam did not pity the program, he from first hand experienced, knew what that felt like to have people look at you with pity. He wanted to be there for the program. He just felt angry for the program. Tron pointed out all the signs but why didn't his dad listen?

Where is this all coming from?

Sam hadn't realized that Tron was looking at him.

“Sam?”

He blinked and cleared his throat,” yeah, umm sorry,” he was so grateful his helmet on or this would be even more awkward than it is now. Tron offered his hand to help him up and he gladly took it. They helped each other climb the barricade but Sam felt at a loss as every time they touched, he expected some kind of emotion transfer that seemed to happen between them from time to time but there was nothing from the program's end.

Once on top of the containers, they cast their eyes onto the street in front of them. The sight in front of them made Sam’s heart tighten. Potholes, piles of pixels of either people, builds or vehicles were scattered all around them. It just looked like a wasteland. No, it was a wasteland

“Come on, the others will be waiting for us,” Tron said before hopping down but he landed, his leg slightly gave way, making him stumble a little. Sam quickly jumped down to help him but as he landed and went go help him, the program raised his hand to stop him in his tracks. 

“You okay?" Sam asked with concern. 

Tron nodded, carefully testing his injured leg before putting his full weight onto it. Sam wasn't convinced but didn't press the issue. Once Tron was sure that his leg was fine, they hurried down the street, slipping into the near alleyway into the next street. 

…..

It wasn't long until they were across the street from the main entrance into the compound and the other two programs were nowhere to be seen. Sam and Tron were crouched behind an overturned light car, hidden from anyone who came out of the gates of the compound. 

Tron reached behind him to pull a small device off his hip and brought it in front of him to activate it. Sam shuffled closer to the program to get a better look. The device projected a small mini-map with two white deacons and two blue beacons east from the other two. 

Tron pointed to the display,” We are here and their beacons were activated here and it hasn't moved so this must be where they are,” Tron explained but it also felt like he was telling himself as well. Sam nodded, “ they don't seem that far.”

“There's a shortcut just behind us that will take us straight to them,” he moved his finger to focus in an alleyway on the map and then looked up and down the street behind them. He scanned his eyes along the collection of buildings until his eyes fell on a large gap between two large buildings,” there,” Sam pointed as he turned back to the program to see Tron nodding him. 

Tron closed the device and popped it back onto his hip before putting his hand on Sam's shoulder as he got up. Sam didn't wait to follow when the program let go and headed in the direction of the shortcut. They slipped into the alleyway and started jogging.  
They carried on straight every time they hit a cross-section into different alleyways. He turned his head to look at Tron and missed the flash of orange ahead of them. Tron quickly drew him into the upcoming alley and crowded him up against the wall with his left hand on his shoulder. The program peered over the wall watching at whatever caught his eye. 

Sam on the other hand was trying to let his brain catch up on what just happened. He took a deep breath, trying to slow his racing heart but being so close to the program, he was finding it a little hard to do so. Their chests were not exactly touching but every time he heaved a breath, he felt the gentle brush of their armour come together. Sam tried to move back a little but couldn't as Tron’s hand tightened on his shoulder and Sam couldn't help but gulp as warmth spread through his shoulder. It was a nice kind of warmth.

Sam retracted his helmet before he said anything. He knew he may have a slight blush on his face.

“What..” Sam began to whisper but was suddenly interrupted as Tron put a single finger up to his helmet where his mouth would be, in a shushing action. The user was slightly taken aback as he looked away but he perfectly understood that they were not alone. His heart was still hammering in his chest but he was feeling slightly anxious as he waited for Tron to tell him that it was safe again.

Safe!...when has this place ever been safe?…

Tron hand eased from his shoulder as he turned back to Sam. He could still feel the warmth coming from the touch was the only thing keeping him calm. He was thankful that he was so good at hiding his emotions, he would just play them off as something else when people close to him thought something was up but to the average person, disinterested or slightly caught up in his train of thought. 

But God, he felt a little bit of a mess. He wouldn't normally act like this. He had done so many dangerous things in his life that he might be the only reason that Alan started getting grey hair so quickly. 

Tron tilted his head slightly at Sam but he didn't say anything. Sam looked back to look Tron directly in the face, well helmet. He slightly felt a bit awkward seeing his distorted face staring back at him. Tron seemed to of felt the awkwardness as well as he steps back, letting go of his shoulder. Tron side stepped back into the other allay before motioning Sam to follow. They were cautious this time, stopping at every cross-section until they got to another open street. Tron scanned the area before the sound of faint clashes of disc caught their attention. It was coming from their right in the direction they needed to meet the others. Sam and Tron wasted no time and began to head towards the battle. 

….

They turned the corner, the tall, dark, gritty wall of the compound made the street feel boxed in. They found the other two further down the street and they looked like they had just finished their opponents as they proceeded to dock their disc in sync. Sam couldn't help but wave to them as the two turned their attention towards Tron and Sam as they started to jog towards them. 

As they slowed their jog to a walk, Sam couldn't help but look down at the piles of pixels that gathered in several heeps on the floor around them. Hits of sadness and regret pinged in his heart. He knew he couldn't change their minds right now, repurposed or not, they were out to kill not only him but anyone who defied them, in honour of their leader. In their eyes, there was no room for imperfection. That was as his father told him, a flaw of his own when he created Clu. 

Sam looked away from the pixels as they walked past them and took in a deep breath before he heard Tron start talking to the others. 

“Good job on holding the area. Hopefully, they had not alerted any of the others that we are here,” Tron greeted as he crossed his arms as they nodded to him.

“We tried getting the door open but it won't budge,” Shaddox admitted as he stepped towards them. 

“Have you tried cutting through it?” Tron asked which earned an unamused stare from Shaddox 

“I've got it,” he said, holding his hand up to them, before making way to the broken control panel. He brought his hand up to hover over the damaged screen. The door itself was a mess, jagged lines coated the door and the walls around it. He could sense weak energy flowing through it as he pressed his hand on it. A dim display flickered on with several error codes. He touched them and got straight to work. There was chatter behind him but didn't pay any mind to them. Sam was quite fascinated by how all this coding had come so quickly to him. Yeah, he had seen his dad do it and actually taught him a little while they waited for Quorra to reboot. He couldn't do everything yet and there were other elements of course, which had proven a challenge, however, basic repairs like were child's play. 

Sam pulled together the last few pieces of code but he closed the display, he expected the pair repair process to start as soon as he closed the display but as he looked up to survey what he’d done to see that nothing was happening. 

The user lifted a brow as he lifted his hand to ghost along the wall but couldn't feel anything, so he turned back to the control panel again, bringing up the display to see if he missed anything. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the display started glitching.

“Umm….” Sam said, confused. This hasn't happened before.

“Sam?” Tron called out to him, slightly concerned. Sam ignored him, giving the display a muddled look.

To Sam's improvisational thinking, he drew hand into a fist and gave the panel a hard thump. He didn't know why he thought this would even work but to his surprise, the display stopped glitching and then disappeared. A nanosecond later, the deep gashes on the wall and door started knitting together. 

“HA!” the user shouted in astonishment,” I didn't think that was gonna work.”

He turned to the other, who was looking between each other, probably wondering what Sam was on about. Tron stepped forward, landing a hand on his shoulder,” Good work, Sam,” before moving to inspect the door as it finished repairing. A feeling panged in his chest when Tron removed his hand from his shoulder, but he tried to push it away, it wasn't the time, it wasn’t the place. 

Sam took in a breath and turned away from Shaddox and Phoenix, who seemed to be transfixed on watching the door. For Shaddox, this must have been the first time in a long time, seeing the work of a user but for Phoenix, he couldn't fathom what she is feeling, but as she stalked up to the door for a closer look. He thinks he gets the general idea of how she's feeling.

“This… this is so pretty,” she was in awe of his work as they watched the thin lines disappear and two thick semi-circular circuits flickered on. Phoenix stepped back from the door as the semi-circle circuits started to turn until they heard a click. the door swooshes open the door open and Sam couldn't help but smiled to himself, obviously pleased with himself. The light-flooded in revealing a dark crumbling hallway. No circuits were illuminating the hall or at the end of the hallway but it seemed like the ceiling had collapsed, creating a way up to the next level.

They stood for a micro to take in the view before suddenly, Sam could hear voices and the sound of foot steps coming from down the street, making him turn his head in the same direction. More of them were coming to find their lost programs. Sam wasted no time by warning the others and quickly shoved them all into the building and locked the door behind them, using the console on the wall and then turned back to the others. 

“Sorry, I could hear more programs heading this way. They will notice that the door is operational but won't be able to access it,” Sam explained before any of them could speak. 

They were surrounded in dark with only their circuits to provide enough light to help them see. he only just caught Tron nodding at him. 

“Let's get moving,” Tron said, turning away from them and then the four were on the move, stepping over bits of debris until they got to the collapsed ceiling.

“Do you think this is safe?” Phoenix asked, concerned as she put her foot against it to test it. Shaddox snorted at the question, earning swat on the shoulder from the female program,” it was a general question!” Sam looked up to see into the other levels above. There were still no signs of lights or any flickering in the distance. It was too steep for them to just walk in, so they need to find a way to climb it. 

He brought his attention back to the three programs standing beside him and found that they were already getting to work with Shaddox moving to squat in front of them with his hands weaved together and bringing them between his knees.

"Who first?"

If it wasn't for the Helmet, he would expect there would be an amused look plastered on the program's face, matching his playful tone. Phoenix took the opportunity to go first as she started taking a few steps back from them. Sam and Tron noticed and tried to move so then they almost plastered against the wall to give her some more space. she pushed off from her spot and ran at Shaddox, stepping onto his hand, allowing him to boost herself up and over to the upper level. 

The search program climbed to her feet before quickly scanning her surroundings. 

“What does it look like up there?” Tron called up to her as she turned back to them. 

“The same as it does down there but the ceiling is still intact,” She confirmed as she crouched down too close to the edge.

Tron nodded and then turned his head towards Sam, “Your next.” The User nodded in response and moved away from the wall to take his place where Phoenix had started. He rolled his shoulders and took in a breath before pushing off from his spot and began running at Shaddox. Jumping onto Shaddox’s hands. The program boosted him up as Phoenix reached out her hand. Sam latched onto it as he planted his feet onto the crumbling flooring and allowed her to pull him up. 

“Thanks,” he said slightly breathless and then they moved back to receive the next program. Sam peered down to see Tron and Shaddox swapping places, allowing Shaddox to be next up, 

They caught Shaddox with ease and now it was Tron’s turn. The security program didn't waste time as he spirited towards the fallen ceiling, jumping onto it, pivoting quickly to then pushing off of it, moving to the broken wall behind him. Landing his foot on the edge of the wall to push off again towards the other. Sam and Phoenix reach out to grab the security program on the forearm and bicep, hulling him up and away from the ledge. 

“Show off,” Sam rolled his eyes as he let a chuckle as he let go of his arm. Phoenix shook her as he looked down, probably trying to hide her laugh even with the helmet on while Tron stood there as he let out a small snort at her action. 

“Hey, I know it's funny to see Tron show off but I have found what we are looking for,” Shaddox called out. when the trio turned around to find Shaddox, They hadn't expected to find the program already down the dark hallway just beyond a few fallen beams from the ceiling above. The ceiling has not completely collapsed like the one they just climbed but it wasn't any better.

“You shouldn't go off like that,” Tron reprimanded like he was some sort of child as they started making their way toward him.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the program brushed it with the shake of his head. 

When they were at Shaddox position, they saw that he was standing in front of a deactivated terminal.

Ah, another thing to fix…

Before they said anything Sam got to work again, activating the display for the terminal without activating it fully. He scrolled through several corrupted files until he went to the compound schematics to find a detailed layout of the compound. 

“I've got it,” he said as he undocked his disc, laying in both of his palms and activating it and then bringing up the map he downloaded earlier. When the map brought his location, he saw that his beacon was in a void zone of the grid, here were the lines of the streets around the compound but an empty space where the compound should be. 

Sam moved his disc to sit in one hand as he brought his hand up to hover over the terminal’s display and started extracting the data from the display before moving hand over his disc and watched the data follow out his hand into his disc. If the first time doing this wasn't fascinating enough to watch, the second time was even better as Sam watched the voided area light up with lines.

“Ooo that’s pretty,” Phoenix said in awe as she peered over Sam’s shoulder. Her eyes were full of amazement as she watched the rest of the data fall out of his hand and saw a mini structure of the compound flicker into place on the map and disappeared to then show him his exact location. 

“There we go,” Sam turned to the other two as Phoenix stayed planted beside him. 

“Alright, from this point we'll split up and search the compound. Shaddox and Phoenix, from what I remember there, the archive and armour are on the same floor a few levels above. Grab whatever you can selvedge and see if you can access any other terminals and download as much as you can. Sam and I will head to Clu’s throne room and see if we can uncover any intel,” Tron instructed with little room to disagree.

“Tron, are you sure you want to go up there?” Shaddox asked as his helmet retracted to give Tron a concerned look.

“Yes,” Tron said firmly, dismissing Shaddox’s unconvinced look all together as he turned to Sam,” could you give them a copy of the layout?”

Sam looked at him hesitantly before speaking,” I.. don't know how to do that.” All of a sudden, Sam felt a bit small in the presence of the other three. He should know how to do something so simple….right? He only knew the things he did either by instinct or what his father told him. 

“Here,” Phoenix said as she stepped forwards, undocking her disc, “I'll show you.”

The program gave him her disc and proceeded to tell him what to do, “Put your disc on top of mine and your disc should be able to link.” Sam did as he was told and greeted with success as his disc lit up and slowly started to blink before settling into a warm glow,” There, now you can transfer over the map.”

He brought up the map and watched as a tab popped up as the transfer began. It lasted a few nanos before the display disappeared and the link broke. Sam gave Phoenix back her disc for her to check if the transfer went through okay. 

“I'm guessing this is a thing you can do between programs?” Sam queried as he placed his disc back on his back. 

“It depends on the program’s programming,” Tron answers, not looking at Sam but at Phoenix instead as she zoomed in on her copy of the map before deactivating it and popping it back on her dock.

…...

The group separated when they were coming up on Shaddox and Phoenix level to search. Shaddox activates his helmet after giving Tron another concerned look and then rushing off to catch up with Phoenix, who had taken off without him. 

One their way to the main elevator, Tron and Sam had encountered two patrols on one level and block off another with either deactivating the door with his special user powers. Currently, they were alone, with Tron standing guard while he tried to fix the elevator. This was proving to be a little bit of a challenge as the coding was heavily corrupted and kept breaking every time he touched it. 

“Ah,” he groaned in frustration as he drew his hand into a fist. He didn't dare punch the door of the elevator as he feared might break it altogether. To get the elevator working smoothly in the first place, it would have to come down and start fresh which they didn't have time to do.

He took a breath before trying again. He was trying to be as quick as possible but every time he put a line of code in, another would break and then he would be back where he started. The structure was just too weak and even if they got it operational, they would only get a couple of uses out of it max.

“Is everything alright,” Sam could feel eyes on him. The program had his discs out ready for anyone who came through the two hallways on the opposite ends of the room. He didn't turn around from the display as he responded to him,” Its nothing, just a minor coding issue.” 

“How long do you think you can get it fixed?” 

“Do you want to do this,” Sam bit at him half-heartedly as he twisted his head to glare at the program over his shoulder. Tron gave him a shrug before Sam looked back to the display. He ran his finger over the display, moving the display under something so small caught his eye. He enhanced it and there he found his problem. 

The only reason the line of code came down to something of simple… a missing subroutine. 

Seriously.. Sam scolded himself for missing something so small and entered into the display and when waited for the code to sync together. 

The display closed and Sam stood from where he was kneeling as the familiar lines danced along the elevator door. He rolled his ankles on at a time, trying to stretch the tight feeling out as he waited. 

“Found the problem then,” Tron teased as he came to his side. He was still facing away from the elevator with his discs drawn. 

Sam rolled his eyes before shaking his head, smiling to himself. The elevator chimed, signalling its activation and arrival, however, when the doors began to open, they groaned to a stop. They tried to close again and then reopen but they couldn't open fully. Sam heard a Tron clear his throat, making Sam quickly shoot the program a set of evils. He realised Tron was facing the same way as him before he grumbled his warning.

“Don't even start.” 

If Tron didn't have his helmet on he could imagine the program having a smug look but Tron was moving towards the elevator before he finished grumbling. The program latched onto one of the door panels pulling it back, creating some more room to get in while the other door continued it retracting and sliding motion. Tron motioned him to get in quickly as he kept the door from moving. It was determined to push at Tron but it was no match for his strength. 

Once Sam was in, Tron slipped in as he let go of the door. He pushed the top level on the control panel and they were on the move. They were going a little fast for Sam liking, racing through level by level. In every few levels they zoomed passed, there were glimpses of orange programs. Hopefully, they didn't notice the elevator wizing place or will be in trouble.

“Well, even if they didn't, they'll be your problem for on your ways back down”

“What was that Sam?”

Shit, he didn’t realise he had said that out loud. He turned his head a little,” It’s nothing.” 

The elevator wasn't slowing and the fear of being slammed into the roof of the building. Kneeling to the elevator floor, he pressed his fingers onto the floor to bring up the display again, however, prior for him to do anything, he felt the elevator's speed begin to slow. Sam closed the display and as he stood, the elevator halted to a stop as it chimed again. The door opens with ease, revealing a tall empty hallway to accommodate a set of tall doors at the other end of the hall. It had less damage than the others they had been in. The hallway was dimly lit with an orange glow. There was only one other turn off from the corridor before the set of doors.

Sam was grateful that he didn't need to climb over any more beams, fall ceilings or really large holes in the floor as they walked closer. Don't get him wrong, there were chunks big or small, scattered around the corridor but the constant stretching and heaving over things were wearing him down. Even with the set of doors a short distance away, Sam couldn't help but feel drawn to the set of doors as they closed the distance between them. It wasn't a good feeling. It was daunting like something was gonna jump out at them and drag them inside to be never let out again and he needed strength, he wasn't a program after all and even they got tired at some point. 

Tron was the one to open the door as he hesitantly places a hand on the control panel beside him. There wasn't a response the first time, but the second time always seems to be the charm. 

The doors clicked before hissing open to a taller room. The room had patches of orange lighting lining the floor around the room. It seemed to be a thing to have a window that dominated one side of the room. The window itself had a large crack running through the middle of it, giving a slightly distorted view of the city in front of them. The blue light coming from the city's light dominated most of the orange that was in the room. 

It seemed that that room could recognize a familiar program because as they stepped into the room shoulder to shoulder, a map of the city started to line itself around the room and the window started to bring up files as well lines of random code that made nonsense to Sam. They continued walking forward, Tron tall and rigid, keeping his eye forward. Sam looked around him at the tiny holographic structures. The holoprojector seemed to be damaged as it started to flicker and parts of the map had disappeared. 

There was a click and then a hiss. Sam snapped his head to the direction of the notice and found an object rezzing in front of them. Tron didn't seem to flinch or do any beside continuing to walk toward whatever was rezzing. 

When the object finished rezzing, Sam felt his facial feature drop.

Oh, it was that…

It was just a seat, particularly Clu’s throne. Sam could help feel disgusted at the thing as they passed by it. 

The window was basically a giant monitor as multiple tabs started to pop up showing serval system failures, an indication that a user has entered or been tampering with the Grid from the outside and several other different files. Sam brought his hand up to gently touch the screen. It reacted swiftly as he brushed a tab away and then another and then another until they came upon a report. 

///..2ND GRENERATION LIGHTCYCLE...///  
///...OWNER: KEVIN FLYNN...///  
///...REPORT FROM BRIDGE OUTPOST 0.4..///

///...LOCATION OF ORIGIN…...

Sam couldn't keep his mouth shut as he continued to read the report. 

“How could i so stupid! I lead them straight to him,” he told himself harshly, not seeing Tron tense beside him as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Nothing was said for a few nanos while Sam was beating himself up with his own guilt. He was in such a hurry to find a way out that he didn't see that he was putting others in danger. But his father wasn't doing anything about it, he looked like he had already given up. Like what was the point? He was so happy to see Sam again. It was his way of keeping him and Quorra. Until Sam had pushed him, lost his disc to Clu, got Quorra hurt but then lost him. It was entirely his fault. Decisions were made and out of his control but he couldn't help feel guilty. 

A solid hand slipped over his shoulder as his eyes began to water. Sam let go of his nose and quickly blinked away the water in his eyes before looking at Tron. 

“They weren't there when we arrived,” Tron kept his gaze to the window as Sam's eyes widened. He knew that He wondered how Tron felt right now, being in a place of constant reminders. A feeling washed over as Tron squeezed his shoulder, “ I was relieved to find that they were gone while Rinzler brooded in his annoyance.” 

Sam stared at him in awe. This was the first time he’d mentioned how he was feeling as Rinzler and he felt a deep sorrow stir inside of him. Tron must have felt it as he drew his arm away and walked away, “ Tron I…” but Tron dismissed him with a hand with his back to him,” carry on looking at the data and start downloading everything.” 

He nodded as he turned back to the report on the screen and let go of a breath he didn't realise he was holding. Sam dismissed the report and brought up the collection of private files that Clu had. There were a fair few from over the cycles but he expected a much more. Most were encrypted but with Sam’s special user powers, the file would be for long. 

He scanned through the files that weren't and found that they were crazy ideas and new updates he could Rinzler. Next, he explores the setting until a way to download the data. He pushed the command and then a loading bar popped up on the screen.

Suddenly, a glitched female voice started speaking, “ ReAdYiNG dAtA cHip. DaTa eXtraction COmpleetiOn in 2..4..5 mIcROS.” 

The announcer was glitching, spouting random numbers as the load bar started moving. Sam turned to find where Tron had got. When eyes landed on him, he found the program in amongst a collection of holo-building with the front of his helmet against the wall as his fingers clawed at the sides of it. His circuits were flickering from blue to orange as he clenched his helmet. Is this what Shaddox was meaning?

Sam gulped as he moved away from the window, taking quiet measurable steps towards him. How long had been struggling while he had his back turned? The program stopped clawing at his helmet to then push off the wall and stood stock-still. Panic and worry washed through as he got closer,” Tron?” 

There was no response but a familiar humming began to emanate from the program as Sam got closer and closer. He tried again, only getting a twitch from the program. He was finally at his side and took in the finer details. The program was shaking as the battle of orange and blue clashed along his circuits. 

“Hey, come on. Talk me,” Sam said gentle and placed a reassuring hand on his bicep. He didn't anticipate what happened next when a strong hand grabbed onto his throat before being shoved into the wall next to them. Strong feelings of panic were sent through him, mingling with his own as the wind in his lungs is knocked out of him. 

“Ah,” he cried out as clawed at the finger around his throat, only for them to tighten even more. Fear and adrenaline coursed through him as he fought to get free,” Tron. please. Snap. out. of. this,” but he didn't answered from inside the helmet just the distorted purr. Black dots began to appear in his vision as he gulped for air. 

The program eased his grip as he took a look at Sam, turning the user’s head to the side. Sam took in as much air as he tried to clear his vision. He could feel the program move closer as he could practically hear the purr in his ear, drowning out the thumping from his heart. 

Sam thinks the best idea is to stay completely still as it was quite obvious Tron wasn't here at the moment. The person standing in front of him wasn't him. somehow Rinzler was still there inside of Tron and had won the battle and internally shoving Tron back down. Hints of rage and fear pinched at him but those feelings were not his own. They were… coming from Rinzler. Sam tried to get a look at the program who had move back a little. Rinzler's shoulders were hunched over and wasn't looking at him anymore but at the floor. He noticed that the program was also shaking. 

Do something…

“T-Rinzler?” he whispered as he brought his hand to bicep again. Rinzler snapped his head back up, pulling Sam forward as he tightened his grip on his neck. Sam groaned out in pain, as his face scrunched up a little to show it. 

“I...I ain't gonna hurt ya,” he choked out as his other hand-picked at the warm fingers around his neck. His legs were starting to feel like jelly from the lack of oxygen and his head was starting to spin. He couldn't keep this up, the feeling of passing out closing in fast. 

Rinzler continued to stare at him. 

“Please,” he begged as he simply took his hand from his bicep, placing it on the side of Tron’s helmet. It was all he could do as his vision began to darken. 

It seemed to have done something because the hand around his throat disappeared. His legs buckled under him, landing in a heap on the floor as he coughed harshly. He felt like he’d swallowed glass every time he coughed and it was hard to breathe through the throbbing pain.

He hadn’t realised he'd closed his eye whilst he breathed through the pain, trying to calm his racing heart. From beyond him, he heard a pained whimper, making him open his eyes. His body wasn't responding to any attempts of his brain telling him to move. Part of his brain it was safer to lay amongst the collection of buildings of the holo map but the other part told him that Tron needed him. 

The shuffling and whimpering stopped and dread began to seep into him. The silence wasn’t always a good thing. It continued until he could hear soft footsteps coming towards him. 

“S...Sam?" Sam’s heart tighten in when hearing the terrified voice calling for him. Sam lifted his hand to show that he was alive before attempting to push himself up. 

“I...I didn't know what came over ....,” but the program wasn't able to finish as they realised they weren't alone as from the other side the room as someone spoke. 

“Well well, what do we have here”...


End file.
